Black Convergence-REWRITTEN
by SailorSaiyan93
Summary: REWRITE. Black Doom is revived and with his new, stronger army, the Earth will surely be doomed. With the Master Emerald shattered, Shadow must ally himself with Sonic, the others, and a young survivor to recover them. All the while, the link between Doom and he gets stronger as time passes, and he discovers that defeating the enemy this time won't be easy. Slight AU, R&R plz!
1. Catalyst of Convergence Part 1

**Note: Well, it's finally here! At least the first couple parts of it! Ideally, I wished to finish this thing up on Archive of Our Own and DeviantArt first before putting it up here, yet given that this story's gotten the most traction here, I decided that I could post what I have here and continue on from there.**

 **But yeah, from the announcement on the old story, I feel that it could be better, thus, I'm redoing big portions of it. Doing some more research, watching some cutscenes from SA2, and doing my own looking into what I want to exactly say and convey without sounding overly preaching or 'holier-than-thou', I think I've got a decent enough start to the beginning of this (hopeful) improvement.**

 **A thing to note that, before we start, this story, unlike last time, will be going down the alternate path in the Shadow the Hedgehog game called 'The Truth of Sadness', which is the Neutral-Dark-Good-Good-Neutral-Good path. It'll mainly follow in that vein until the very last part (the oh so beloved computer room), where it will veer off in a different direction that'll sort of more or less set the stage for what's to come.**

 **Let me know if that's confusing or if you don't understand, yet with that said, here's the beginning of the rewritten Black Convergence, and I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Catalyst of Convergence Part 1**

 **Sonic and respective settings © of Sega/Sonic Team.**

 **Special thanks to my beta for this chapter, Soultail Omega-Light! Thank you so much!**

It was not but just a few, short days ago that the flyer 'Fire in the Sky' had circulated around in the daily paper, highlighting the expected return of the Black Comet that passed over but once every half century. Whilst the pattern wasn't believed to be anything unusual, Hailey's comet actually taking seventy-two to seventy-nine years to even pass by the Earth, the other worldly object brought a good amount of publicity, several media outlets preparing themselves for reporting and drawing attention to the comet, as well as several anxious sky watchers ready to view it for themselves.

Yet, while the number was very few, and now even fewer, the announcement of the comet's short lived time being seen only served to remind those few that, despite the general populous' ignorance, there was nothing to be celebrated about it drawing so dangerously close to the planet.

And whilst said ignorance was still somewhat held when the skies above transformed into a darkened, ominous red, a good portion of the inhabitants of Westopolis began to have doubts that the sudden appearance of the descending, black skinned creatures were in no way connected to the passing entity.

Yet unknown and unseen by the panicked civilians and before the GUN troops that had come to combat the sudden, otherworldly invaders, an outside witness had been approached by a member of this strange, extraterrestrial race. A member that, to the witness' bafflement, had knowledge of his name.

"Shadow…" the creature spoke, its, or assumedly his, voice a deep, gravelly baritone and, if the hedgehog had to be honest, it perfectly matched his appearance. "Oh, you HAVE grown…"

Enormous, elongated horns sat atop of a misshapen head, there being no features present save for a pair of three eyes, one of which, stationed atop of the other two, bore its own iris and pupil unlike those below it. In hindsight, and in the few short moments that he had come to fully gaze upon the creature, Shadow found himself wondering as to why that particular eye held such an unusual appearance to the others. Such an answer was revealed at a later time, yet in that moment, he held no idea of such a thing, let alone what or who this devilish looking being was.

Obvious as it was, the shock of this otherworldly being actually knowing what he was called immediately struck a cord with the black hedgehog…another element that, in hindsight, he realized, seemed to perpetuate throughout the other members of the being's race. His…children. "Who are you?" the then unsuspecting, yet more than cautious hedgehog questioned. "Where do you come from? And how did you-"

"Inquisitive, aren't you?" the horned being chuckled, as if bemused by the string of questions falling from his lips. "That's good. That's very good. A display of a reasonable amount of intelligence." From the looks of it, the creature bore no visible legs, and even if there was something present on his lower half, it was concealed by a worn and aged, yet ornate robe of dark brown, several pairs of stones and jewelry worn and displayed with pride around what Shadow could only assume was his 'neck'. "Yet such things, I'm afraid, must wait. Our day of reckoning is fast approaching…"

Whether it be from the overall appearance of the alien or how intentionally vague his answer sounded, Shadow found himself steadily backing away from the being. He knew his name, the only thing he knew at the time, and along with how much he had 'grown'. Yet from how dismissive, if not outright avoiding of his questions the being had been, Shadow's instincts immediately began setting off alarms. "Then go and hurry up with it." He simply stated in a huff. "Sounds far from anything worth my time."

The robed creature didn't make a move, not even a lunge towards him to try and prevent him from leaving. If Shadow hadn't turned that moment, perhaps he would've caught something in his features change. As if this dismissal was actually something expected, if not outright hoped for.

"If that is your sentiment," the low voice stated, tinges of regret oozing from his words. "Then I suppose you COULD live the rest of your days simply living with the image of her being shot in cold blood."

His feet immediately stopped. While he was not entirely familiar with the sensation, at least not from what he remembered, Shadow found his entire body growing deathly cold. Yet before he could even get a word out, the being spoke again.

"Yes, I know who she is." Again, if Shadow had turned at that moment, he would've noticed the being's fist beginning to clench tightly before loosening once again. As if a sudden burst of rage had momentarily overcome him before he pushed it back once again. "I know where she resided, as well as what happened there. Why you're here, and why you're unable to recall any of what transpired before you were found in that pod deep underground, in the guardianship of that machine. Omega, you call him, yes?"

Shadow then turned, to his shame, his mouth hanging agape in utter shock at what he had just heard. "…who are you really?"

The horned creature remained silent for a moment or two, as if seriously contemplating a decision. Yet apparently, it didn't take long for him to reach said decision. "Very well. I hold knowledge of you, so thus, you shall have knowledge of me." He drew closer, one hand reaching out and brushing the hedgehog on his tan cheek, a shudder traveling through the smaller of the two. "I am Black Doom, the leader of the Black Arms, the ones you see descending from the skies above."

Black Doom…not once in his life, had he heard such a name, yet still, Shadow found something 'click' from within his mind. Some sense or form of familiarity was brought forth upon hearing this creature's name, even if he had never seen nor heard of him until now. And he was still stroking his cheek!? With a quick motion, Shadow dislodged Doom's three-digit hand from his face.

"As I was saying, I know everything about you Shadow, seeing I've been watching you for some time." Watching…there was something more to that. Yet what exactly, he didn't know. "And I have come all this way just for you. To give you clarity and answers to all that you want answered." Doom spoke of such a thing with such enthusiasm, Shadow finding himself actually becoming interested in what he had to say. "Yet…if you hold no interest, then I understand." He began to turn away, slowly. "But, I must continue on for my children…with or without your-"

"Wait!"

Perfect. Turning around, giving the closest he could to a puzzled expression, Black Doom gazed down at the smaller hedgehog. "Yes?"

His calling to him didn't indicate he held trust in him. Far from it, and the realization of this fact made Shadow regret his action for a moment or two. Yet the mentioning of the blonde, adolescent girl that had been killed…this being, Black Doom, apparently knew who she was, who this 'Maria' was. If it had just been that, then yes, while he would've been shocked, it would've bred more than enough caution if he had been wishing for Shadow to partake in this 'day of reckoning' with only that as leverage.

Yet…no. It was impossible. There was no way; absolutely no way that he could've known that he was locked up, kept in a controlled, perpetual slumber within the depths of one of Eggman's fortress', let alone the identity of the very machine that was stationed to watch over him! How could he know these things?! Even Rouge herself had no knowledge of Omega before she had nearly been riddled with bullets by the E-series robot, and she claimed to have known Shadow far longer than he certainly knew her!

"I can help you." Doom assured, voice oddly soft and despite himself, strangely comforting. As if he were speaking to a frightened child, Shadow observed. "I can help you gain back what you lost…and much more. Only I can do this."

It was another thing that Shadow found himself noticing in hindsight. How Doom had waited, waited specifically for him to speak. Waited for him to respond, as if he was waiting for some sort of cue.

And to his discredit, Shadow, in the midst of all of this being thrown onto him, gave him what he wanted. "What do you want?"

"It is a small task." Black Doom assured, noticing that while he was interested, there was still a good amount of skepticism held. "Truly. In fact, you are more than familiar with them already. Having gathered two them during your excursion through a palace by the ocean and through a base in a canyon."

The Ocean Palace and the Bullet Station…from the mentioning of the enigmatic 'Maria', he had already made it obvious he had been supposedly 'watching' for some time, yet still…something else so recent…

"What I want from you is to gather the Chaos Emeralds." That was how he phrased his demand, though honeyed as possible. "I want for you to gather them, and bring them to me."

Small task huh? For him, perhaps, yet still, oddly specific that he wanted them. Stones of untold, unfathomable power. The apparent distrust was immediately noticed, a twinge of frustration beginning to appear on the alien's features, yet just before Shadow was about to go off and see the events occurring in Westopolis himself, Doom's hand reached forward.

Whether he ran or slapped the appendage away, it would've have mattered, for the moment one of the three digits touched his forehead, the red streaked hedgehog found himself completely unable to do anything, the most basic of senses robbed from him in that moment. His vision left him, nothing aside from a seemingly endless, black abyss in front of him for a span of time he couldn't discern, seconds dragging on into minutes, those minutes in turn transitioning into hours.

He dare not say it, let alone allow himself to accept it, yet Shadow found himself steadily beginning to grow more and more panicked. His entire being was stuck, caught in a perpetual state of paralysis in some lightless place where the sun never reached. He struggled, fought, kicked and thrashed around, even if said actions were all in his mind, yet still, nothing. He felt his form stay as still and motionless as it had been the moment he had been thrust into this state.

That was until, to his surprise and relief, he found his eyes beginning to open.

His vision was returning to him, yet what had been before him were not the outskirts of the city, let alone the setting sun in a reddened, darkened sky. He was somewhere…wet. Yes, that was in. Wet and…warm. From what he could tell by what was beginning to return to him, he was stationed in a small, compact area full of green, heated liquid, some sort of device stationed over his mouth and nose that fed in oxygen. Shadow held no idea why, yet being here, wherever this was, it felt right somehow. Right and familiar…

Yet even with this, the hedgehog was still not entirely comfortable being here. The fact remained that, wherever this was, he was somehow trapped: trapped and unable to get out. Despite the small amount of room given to him, Shadow attempted to try and maneuver himself slightly, if not just to see if there was enough room for him to maybe, at the very least, throw a fist forward or kick against the barrier of glass that was before him. Yet this in itself proved to not exactly be the best idea, a stinging, sharp pain immediately resonating throughout his entire body.

'What the-' there was at least the option of his eyes moving, looking over and around to see that what he had just felt was from something that was connected to his skin. No, it was IN his skin. In his skin, and feeding something into him from several areas all on him, two in particular located on each side of his small neck. 'Needles?' Shadow realized, this coupled by with an overwhelming desire to remove them. Yet still, who in the world put needles into him? And better yet, what exactly was being fed through and into him?

It hurt. He held no idea as to what was happening; yet he knew that these instruments hurt. Even more, there was a dull, yet still present sting in each area where one of the sharpened ends punctured his flesh. Where was he? Why was he here, what were these things putting into him?! Why couldn't he get out?! He wanted to get out! He wanted to-

"Doesn't that hurt?" someone was speaking.

The liquid, whilst warm, was in no way transparent, there being little that he could see aside from the bright hue of green along with several particles floating aimlessly around him. Yet beyond the glass, he found that if he focused just enough, he could make out two distinct shapes. One was particularly smaller than the other, yet from the sound of their voices, at least what he could make out given where he was currently, they seemed to be that of a young girl and a far older man.

"Well…" the man began, tone sounding somewhat regretful. "Ultimately, that's something that can't be helped. But it shouldn't be too much longer."

Too much longer? No, no that wasn't good enough! He wanted to be out NOW! He NEEDED to be out NOW!

"Oh, that's good." The girl replied, not exactly pleased, yet still somewhat relieved. "I know I wouldn't like it if I had all those things stuck into me."

'Then do something about it!' Shadow mentally demanded. 'Don't just stand there gawking, you…you…' His fury immediately died. Was this…who he thought it was?

"Do you think he'll remember us being here when he wakes up?" she asked again, Shadow finding that, just as he began to link and put together the pieces of what might've been going on, who was on the other side and only slightly visible through the thick liquid, his vision began to falter once again.

'Wait…wait no! No!' he protested, his mental efforts now focused on keeping his line of sight on the two figures. This wasn't to say that he had suddenly developed a want to be stuck in this confined space with these needles, yet he realized that he was onto something. Something he had been anxiously wishing to know, and now it was slipping away! 'No! Not yet!'

"I don't know." The old man answered. "I can't say for sure. I don't even think he's entirely aware as it is now." He was right in more ways than one, Shadow finding himself slipping further and further away, sinking down, down, down. "But when is, you'll be the first person that he'll get to see."

He wanted her; this young girl to see him, so she must've bore some sort of importance in that regard. Was…was this her? Was this girl he was hearing 'Maria'?

Shadow struggled, trying and desperately clinging to whatever was left of this fleeting vision or whatever it was. If it was indeed her, then he needed to know! He needed to know where this was, why he was here, let alone why she would be the one to see him! He wanted to know! He needed to know! He needed to-

"Oof!" he had fallen. Fallen on the grass beneath him, under the single tree he had been standing under not but a few moments prior, with the same horned being as before standing over him. "What…" Shadow began, finding that he was having difficulty even formulating words from the still present shock of being thrust out of whatever sort of state he was put in. "What was THAT? What did you do?"

Black Doom simply chuckled, as if the experience wasn't anything extraordinary, even if aspects such as time and overall sensation were completely lost and toyed with during that brief spell he had just endured. "I told you." he began. "I can help you. What you just witnessed was just a sliver of a long forgotten event you bore witness to. In fact, to answer your question, no. You didn't remember that brief moment when you woke up." Before he could once again question on how in the world he knew such a thing, Doom continued. "There is little time. I must depart." He turned away, yet paused to look back at the still flabbergasted hedgehog. "If you wish to see more, to see all…I shall unlock it for you. Bring me the Emeralds, and I shall give you the clarity you've been pining for."

And with that, before Shadow could get a single word out, to call out for him to stop or demand that he stay and deliver more to him, Black Doom's form suddenly became enveloped in a bright, red hue that temporarily blinded the black hedgehog. "I shall see you in the city just ahead." When he removed his gloved hand away from his red eyes, the horned being was gone, his offer still remaining fresh in his mind.

'Like it or not…' Shadow concluded. 'He knows much more than I do. And what he does know…the only way I'm going to get any answers is to get those Chaos Emeralds.'

With this, the hedgehog's jet shoes activated as soon as he began to move forward, their flares slightly burning the blades of grass below them, straight towards the now frantic and overwhelmed Westopolis.

From there, Shadow's search for the truth that he had just been given a taste of began...yet that is not where the true uncovering began. Oh yes, a good deal had been revealed over the course of the journey taken, routes taken and paths chosen, alternating between benefiting a familiar individual he had come across, the being that he had just met (or rather, his six limbed, single eyed extension of himself), or just himself. Yet still, what he had received in the brief instances where something long forgotten climbed out and was remembered once again would not compare to what he would receive in one swift, but efficient blow.

And when said blow was dealt, that was where Shadow the Hedgehog truly began to see and understand who, and even more, what he was. For the better, and for the worst, for good and evil.

That was when the changes began…

Yet that came at a far later time. But it began, truly began, right when, through his trek in the Iron Jungle, a blue colored hedgehog with quite the thirst and hunger for adventure came to him and offered him a ride up towards an old, worn down ship that the Black Arms were seen attempting to gain control over.

Yet as the small crew flew upwards, past the Earth and towards the isolated Space Colony Ark…there was someone else at a far greater distance that was awaiting answers of their own.

Past the Earth, just one planet away, and nestled on the surface of Deimos, Mars' smallest moon, rested an object not of Mars and definitely not of Earth. An expansive, sturdy spacecraft of darkly colored, violet metal rested on the moon's rocky surface, its thrusters having been inactive for some time, yet this wasn't due to any loss of fuel or malfunction. The only capable pilot of the ship had intentionally stationed it here, now lying in wait. The front of the ship, if a soul outside of the pilot or any of his other company aboard could've seen it, possibly would've likened the design to that of an insect or bug, specifically an ant. In fact, the entirety of the ship seemed to resemble such, sections resembling a thorax and abdomen present, and whilst they were not as long as those of the insect, clear depictions of legs and antennae were present in the structure as well.

"The Blodex certainly knew how to put together a decent enough vehicle for travel." The pilot outwardly mused.

The aforementioned pilot of the spacecraft was adorned in red robes that trailed down to the floor, sections of blue stationed in various areas, particularly on the shoulders, and golden trims that extended down to his golden cuffs. The pattern on the cuffs resembled the symbol that rested on his chest: a circle with several, wave-like extensions fanning and spreading out until their reached either the end of their section or the cloth, the symbols on the cuffs being more unique in that they bore a single, blue sphere in the center. Though for what resided on his lower section was but the open space below, for he bore no lower section, so to speak, much in line with the one he was waiting to hear from. He was indeed a member of the invading aliens that had made their presence known not too long ago, yet unlike Black Doom, in place of elongated, stretching horns, was a blue hood covering the top of his head. He was not one like Doom, yet he was also not like one of the several Soldiers that were currently wreaking havoc on Earth.

No, his mind was his own, unlike them, at least, he wished to think so.

From his current position, staring out of the two 'eyes' of the ship, he was reminded of how long he and his superior, his 'Breeder' had traveled. He didn't need the universe as an example of that, the length it took to get as close as they were now had taken months, if not nearly an entire year! He remembered when his 'Breeder' first sensed that 'he' had awoken, having just passed Saturn. Then, for a moment, the link was disconnected, nothing able to be felt for a good while until finally, and ironically, as they were passing Mars itself, the link had finally risen once again. Faint at first, yes, yet with time, it grew and developed to what it had been before, his Breeder having never looked so relieved.

And with this confirmation, the pilot's departure was ordered, taking one of the ships that his race had taken aboard their own traveling vessel and stationing himself and a few select others but a short distance away from the Earth. Well, short might've not been the most appropriate of terms, seeing as the only discernable object from this point was Deimos' own planet, Phobos actually being a further distance away. In fact, aside from Mars, each and every other planet appeared to be no more than a faraway, bright star. The Sun of this particular solar system able to be seen, yes, yet from this distance, its brightness was but just a small amount brighter compared to the other objects floating amidst the lightless abyss.

The hooded member of the Black Arms averted his eyes; all three of them, his sight having caught the bright object stationed a good distance away from Mars and located to the southeast. Ironic, seeing as from where he was, Saturn seemed closer to the red planet than Earth did. And while he had come here due to his Breeder's orders being firm and absolute…honestly, the entire ordeal surrounding that planet, particularly with that one ship floating above brought him nothing but anxiety.

"Did we really have to come back here?" he wondered aloud, the few Soldiers that had been left with him further back in the ship. Besides, they wouldn't have been able to make much for conversation as it was. "Better yet, did you even need to respond to that old man's attempts to contact the Black Comet? You had already become aware that he was in a desperate state…yet…there was no need to create that creature. And you have no idea what that human had done to his-"

"Death…"

He paused, any and all thought relating to what he was just talking about ceasing at that very moment. If it was him that he had just heard, speaking in his mind, then he couldn't let him see that he was having such thoughts.

"Black Death…can you hear me?"

There was no mistaking it now. It was indeed whom he believed it to be. "Black Doom!" Black Death mentally exclaimed, both shocked and overjoyed, yet it quickly transformed into concern when he realized what he had just called his superior. "My Breeder! Y-Yes, my Breeder. I can hear you perfectly.

"I would hope so." The disembodied, guttural voice stated, though from the sound of his tone, he didn't seem to be in the best of spirits. "You're at least one I do not have to worry over."

"Breeder," Death began to question. "Where are you exactly? Are you on Earth, or the Comet?"

"Neither." Neither? "I'm on the Ark."

"The Ark?"

"Do you know of any other 'Arks' around here besides the one orbiting that ball of dirt?" Doom hissed. He was definitely displeased about something. "We've gathered four of the Emeralds now-"

"Just four?"

"One less than what we need. The blasted blue rodent made off with one that those blasted humans attempted to steal back from us on the ship." Doom confessed, Death unable to remember the last time that there was a twinge of shame in his voice. "Even if it's not all, if there were five, then we could at least make use of the Eclipse Cannon."

"The humans are there as well?"

"They're ALL here, Death. We came here to gain a better leverage over those walking bags of flesh, yet apparently the Commander of GUN has caught on and sent his troops up here. Not to mention, 'he' has gone and come here with that blue rodent and some of those other pests to put a stop to it." Fury resonated throughout his voice. "Some of my children managed to squander the Emerald in their possession...and I must say, from what the waves of pleasure I was sensing from them, the meat here hasn't changed much in the last thousand years or so."

Well, at least there was that, Black Death finding himself beginning to lightly salivate before regaining control over himself. Indeed though, from the signals Doom was sharing with him, this planet's population was truly ideal for feeding. Yet even through all that, the hooded Arms member found it puzzling that amongst those that had traveled to the Ark to stop his Breeder's operation, one had been the very one that Black Doom was previously so anxious to see.

"And…what of the other two?"

"They are with him."

"Pardon?"

"Did I not make myself clear? They are with him." Doom repeated, irritable he had to repeat himself. "He gained it in a race with that blue rodent." There was a considerable amount of animosity upon his superior mentioning this 'blue rodent'. Why, he was unsure, yet nevertheless, he certainly thought this individual, whomever they were, had been far from wise to invoke his Breeder's wrath. Perhaps maybe a bit of pity as well…though such a thing wouldn't dare be mentioned openly.

"So…where is he now?" Death questioned, somewhat fearful upon feeling his master's tension so strongly, even if he was not physically present. Of course, the wrong thing said could easily change that.

"He had gone with one of those here to stop us. A crocodile, and a member of some ragtag group one of the Earth's government have hired to collect data from the Ark and hopefully prevent any more damage. Its condition has long since changed over the last half-decade." Doom explained. "As of now, he has left his side as the ship's power plant has been located. The other two teammates, a chameleon and honey bee are now hacking into the systems and excavating what they can."

They would have to be taken care of, especially if they were still wishing to access the Eclipse Cannon, yet they were far from the only person of interest that Black Doom had in mind. In fact, from what his eye had seen, a particular member of GUN was aboard the Ark as well…someone that, frankly, had done quite a bit of growing up since he had seen him last. It was stunning how quickly the human species aged, yet nevertheless, it was actually a little meeting that he would look forward to in the near future. To see if little Abraham held as much fear for him as before.

Yet that would come later. For now, the task at hand was dealing with one that was, to his dismay, 'going astray'. Yet before he could finish his message to his lower ranking comrade, a sudden interjection put his plan on halt.

"You shouldn't be there." It was impulsive, yes. And he'd surely be reprimanded, yet all the same, Black Death's sentiments, as much as he held concern for what they would bring, remained the same. "If this doesn't go as planned…if he doesn't-"

"Do you doubt me, Black Death?"

"N-No! Not at all, my Breeder!" the horn-less alien assured, though the sudden wave of ire at essentially being told that Doom's maneuver to go to the ship himself was unwise was nearly too much. The very idea was enough of an insult to warrant him going to Deimos that very moment to 'correct' him, yet Death had further to add, despite potentially getting into even hotter water. "Yet, surely you understand my concern. After all, if something were to occur, in that you would be severely injured…or worse…then, you realize what would happen-"

"That's an impossibility." Doom interrupted, obviously more than a little cross with the far off onlooker. "Tell me, in which of our many conquests and victories have I ever come unfathomably close to my potential demise?"

"Well, none. Yet still, you have had multiple attempts on your life-"

"And all of those that tried were converted into sustenance for me or my children. And even in the former's case, they provided me with the means to birth and bring forth yet another generation of our kind."

"But as our lifeline, shouldn't you keep to using your eye and not-"

"ENOUGH OF THIS!"

It did no such thing, yet from the shockwave that rattled Death's entire being, he would've sworn that the very ship itself shook from the volume of Doom's voice.

"Would I, would my children, would YOU have survived this long had I NOT been nothing short of the apex of our entire race?! Do you not think of the hundreds, the THOUSANDS of years of existence that we have endured?! And through each and every one of them, has any opposition, no matter the size or their arsenal, gained victory over us!? Tell me one! Just one, and I shall take back all I have said!"

The hooded subordinate was rendered completely silent, and while it was far from a prideful thing to admit, he discovered that his blood had gone absolutely cold. Perhaps it would've been better to have not spoken at all.

"Well?" Doom's echoing voice questioned, yet still, Death said nothing. "I have him trying my patience already. Do not tell me you wish to add to that as well-"

"No, of course not." He finally answered, though this reply was not enough.

"Of course not, what?"

"Of course not, my Breeder." Death corrected, his senses feeling far less strained and his body finally began to feel relief from Doom's ignited fury.

"Besides, that is why I have you, isn't it?" not wishing to bring forth another episode from his superior, Death began to reply, yet was cut off before a single word could get out. "I must leave you soon." He confessed. "He is on his lonesome now…and we are in dire need of a little 'talk'."

"Be careful." Death settled with saying, though it was obvious that there was far more he wished to express.

"Don't trouble yourself." Doom assured. "He may not be connected to my consciousness entirely like the others, yet do not forget that he'd be no better than that mad lizard once sealed up there if not for me." Even from this distance, the resolve Death was experiencing from his Breeder was all encompassing. "In the end, my will reigns supreme over his. He WILL be mine."

While he wasn't present to see it, he could at least feel the thoughts of respect and admiration being transmitted back to him, Death bowing to his far off leader. "So you say it, so it shall be done."

"Indeed." Seeing as there was nothing more to discuss, Doom, even from his distance, returned this with a sense of confirmation and a nod in response. "Though…if the situation troubles you that much, then I suggest you begin making your approach to Earth now."

With that, Doom's words died, his presence in Death's own consciousness fading as the ship, once again, became silent.

Indeed, as Black Death pondered and reviewed his Breeder's words, perhaps he was worrying over nothing. After all, everything he had stated was true. For as long as he could recall, his own life having just begun when Doom himself was well in his years and had produced several generations of spawn, not one planet or its peoples had defied his Breeder and lived to see another day. And that was if they were amongst the first to be consumed first, all the rest simply having to wait their turn. Soon, all seven of those stones would be in their possession…and then, when their home, his home, was finally able to breach past that planet's atmosphere, then he would be able to experience the same satisfying pleasure for himself.

Though, even with this reassurance, as well as the now present hunger that came to him with these thoughts, Black Death still found himself pondering why Black Doom was so insistent on coming here. It wasn't as if they hadn't established themselves on other planets, and the ruins stationed in Glyphic Canyon were far from the first of their kind, and yet still, his Breeder always insisted that THIS planet was the one that they would dine on. Not just that, but they were to eradicate everything, no exceptions. While granted, Death could attest that his species weren't exactly known for being merciful in their conquests, he couldn't help but get the sense that Doom had a particular need, a deeply rooted yearning to see that this particular planet was rendered to that of a near inhabitable shell of its former self.

The reason as to why, he wasn't entirely sure, yet there was definitely some other element to this entire operation besides simply acquiring 'him' into their group. It wasn't just about that, he was trying to prove something. To whom, he didn't know, as frankly, there was no one important enough to Doom that would require him going out of his way to do all of this. Yet whoever it was, it certainly must've been one that really, truly angered him, and while he didn't hold enough information to say or make a solid conclusion, Black Death sensed that, for whatever reason, his superior wasn't directing his anger at this aforementioned 'blue rodent'.

 **Space Colony Ark-Corridor Leading to the Ship's Power Plant**

Shadow wasn't exactly one to readily believe in such things, let alone declare happenings as such, yet at the moment, he considered it nothing short of an absolute miracle that he and that chatterbox crocodile FINALLY found the main source of power to the Ark! A miracle, if not just that it allowed him to be free of being continuously reminded and told to find the 'computer room'.

"It's far from just a SINGLE room." the dark furred hedgehog growled, his jet shoes carrying him further down the darkened corridor, most, if not all of the lights having gone out and leaving the area barely lit, making the trek even more cumbersome as he now had to pay extra attention to where he was even going. "And not to mention, there's NO computer in sight! It's an entire unit that powers up the ship!" to think, that oafish reptile called himself a detective of all things!

Yet despite his current sentiments towards the self-proclaimed leader of the three person detective agency, Shadow himself didn't hold any animosity towards Vector. If there was anything positive before, it had been tossed out the window from the constant insistence to find that blasted 'computer room', yet if he was able to cast that aside (key word being 'able'), the only negative experience he had involving the green crocodile was that skirmish near Grand Metropolis' Power Plant (oh, the irony). Granted, that had mostly been instigated by Rouge's questioning of what they were doing there, possibly going in on their own claim that Eggman was theirs to deal with, such openly declared by the bat herself and their mechanical companion more than receptive of that plan. He in turn had more questions to ask; yet if the possibility should arise, there wasn't really much objection to it on his part. Though that particular battle on the Final Fortress located on the Egg Fleet with Neo Metal Sonic would've potentially been far more difficult had he and his other two comrades not been there. Still, aside from those two incidents, Shadow couldn't say that he had exactly been familiar enough with Vector, Charmy, or Espio to hold any sort of solid opinion on any of them, the present one regarding Vector aside.

'Well, there's two things I'm sure of now.' he concluded. 'He has no idea that telling someone only ONCE is more than enough!'

Regardless, the Ark's core was found, and Vector had offered to stand guard over it. Unlike other portions of the colony, the core had seemed to be in relatively good shape. Apparently, according to him, GUN had hired the trio to come to the ship and scrounge up any data they could before the ship was completely destroyed by the black aliens if possible, and seeing that the main power source had been found, there was at least some sort of advantage held over them, according to Vector at least. Though even with this, Shadow found that their work had yet to be completed.

Before he had left the core aka the inappropriately named 'computer room', Vector's hand fell onto the smaller hedgehog's shoulders, his large eyes attempting to appear stalwart and brave, yet evident worry seeped through his facade. It far from made up for the number of times he had been reminded and constantly pestered by his, yet the thanks Shadow got lessened his fury slightly. Far from a good deal, yet still, at least his efforts were recognized. Yet from what Vector had told him, GUN had alerted Vector and the other Chaotix that the Black Arms held four of the Chaos Emeralds in their possession, and were looking to gain a fifth. There was some talk that Sonic or someone else that came to the Ark had gotten ahold of it and had gotten into something of a wild goose chase with them, yet this couldn't exactly be confirmed. And while he wasn't saying that he couldn't take them on and go after them himself, once again stating such several times to make sure he had made his point, Vector begrudgingly brought up how that, if he left, the 'computer room'/core would be left without anyone to protect it.

As much as he thought the detective was making himself appear far stronger than he truly was, nevertheless, it was clear as to who was faster. And even if Shadow's opinion of the crocodile's deduction skills were still not incredibly high, nor was his strength as much a force to be reckoned with as he insisted, it would be at least be better for him to be here than to leave the core unguarded entirely. Thus, here he was, rushing down the darkened, barely lit halls that lead to the core and scouting out for any sign of those black skinned creatures, and perhaps, if the claim was indeed true, a smaller one of blue. It was almost delightfully ironic in a way. Ironic and somewhat unnerving to him, given that ever since the little happening that occurred at Glyphic Canyon, Shadow had actually found himself uncomfortable in even trying to approach them.

 **A Few Days Earlier**

Whether it was due to the shock of what he had just experienced wearing off or from what he was seeing around him adding to already held doubts and uncertainty he held before, Shadow didn't know, yet regardless, it was clear that this Black Doom and his 'children' had most definitely not come in peace. Westopolis, once bustling and full of activity, now reduced to a seemingly endless display of toppled cars and dismantled property, fine sheets of glass fragments littering the street and flames erupting from all around, whether it be from the reaction of irreversible damage to a vehicle's inner compartments or a flammable source being ignited by the flaring sparks of broken traffic lights or road signs. Shadow was hit with the sight of this first hand, and whilst it seemed that the city had largely been evacuated, a very different kind of activity was present, and both on opposing sides.

It took little time for him to come across Sonic the Hedgehog, of whom, despite knowing little to nothing about what was happening, let alone who these strange, black skinned intruders were, it was obvious that they were causing quite the disturbance. The human authorities were present in the city as well, fighting against the increasing hoard that seemed to keep creating damage and destruction wherever they went, no matter how many of their own had been taken out by the flurry of bullets sent their way.

Sonic's intentions there were in that he saw the commotion and had come to investigate. And upon seeing all of it, he had the inclination to maybe teach some of these creatures a little bit of 'etiquette' in the way of how causing all this chaos and bothering the citizens 'weren't really the best ways to introduce yourself.' Of course, he questioned Shadow as to why he was here as well, though he wasn't going to simply share that with him. Not in a case like this. Besides, if the soldiers were here, then that's what they were there for, right? His being there was a far more personal matter…an important matter…and yet…

'I want to go down there someday. I want to go down there, even if I last just an hour, or even one minute. Just to be there…'

'You will. That's what I'm here for, isn't it?'

Something…all of this destruction, it seemed to spark something in him. This…it wasn't exactly as if it necessarily unnerved him, he being made of far sterner stuff to be affected so easily. Yet still, Shadow found it making him…puzzled. As if all of this held little purpose or direction, these creatures were simply let loose here on the city to do whatever they saw fit.

If what he said was true, if he was truly here, waiting for him, he had a few questions to ask regarding what point any of this had. As well as getting what he had come here for in the first place from him.

Shadow had, after a few more rounds of dodging both the blazing fires and the human's firepower he nearly came too close to on more than one occasion, he actually managed to spot a Chaos Emerald nestled within some of the wreckage nearby. Shimmering and glowing its green hue in a pile of rubble, practically begging him to come and retrieve it, to make it his.

'Bring me the Emeralds...' practically begging him to come, '...and I shall give you the clarity you've been pining for.' to come and retrieve it.

"Out of the way, ugly!" he heard Sonic proclaim, the other hedgehog's red eyes catching flashes of blue on the left of him, bouncing off and dive bombing a small cluster of black creatures that had decided to either tried to antagonize him or had simply gone to the smaller speedster out of curiosity. Whatever the case, it mattered not as they certainly were being hostile now, reacting to his attacks with their own, albeit far slower paced.

He believed that he heard the blue hedgehog call for him to come back, yet whether or not this was truly the case, it was too late now, as he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Besides, from what he had seen looking back, it appeared that Sonic took care of the few harassing him.

This was nothing more than complete anarchy, and frankly, Shadow held no interest in staying in it longer than he had to! Yet despite what that Doom said, there seemed to be absolutely no sign of him-

"You are late, Shadow."

It took a moment for him to stop, given the high velocity he was traveling at, yet there was no mistaking it. That was his voice, the voice of the one that personally came to him as the dark skinned invaders made their way into the city. Yet...where in the world was...wait.

"My appearance is...unfamiliar to you, I see." Black Doom told the flabbergasted hedgehog. "Though I assure you, it is highly necessary."

Unfamiliar was quite the understatement. If it weren't for his voice coming out of the far smaller 'thing' in front of him, Shadow frankly wouldn't have even believed it. This thing, he assumed was alive (seeing as it was talking to him), yet what it was saying still befuddled him. The anomaly appeared to be a six limbed, dark skinned creature that bore a great deal of resemblance to the features of the more bipedal variants running around (assuming they were indeed part of the same species). Yet unlike those larger, mute members of the invading hoard, this multi-limbed being bore one large, piercing eye stationed right in the middle of its body, the very same that Black Doom possessed atop of his two, blank ones.

"I don't think I need to ask you to explain yourself?" Shadow questioned, the large, floating 'eye' seeming amused by his confusion, far from lightening the hedgehog's already disgruntled mood.

"Yet it is all right now." the six-limbed creature drew closer to the hedgehog, the single eye staring directly into both of his own. "For now, my eye shall follow you, and observe where you go."

 **Present Time, Space Colony Ark**

Observe where he went...whether this was supposed to be something of comfort or a warning to him, he didn't know, the tone of Doom's voice seeming to indicate both. It would be whatever he would do that would result in which it would be. Given what had transpired after his trek through Westopolis, this realization held far more weight, especially after what had happened when he acquired the second Emerald in the ruined city.

 **A Few Days Earlier, Westopolis**

Even amidst the chaos and destruction that seemed to completely surround them, fortune had decided to shine onto the black hedgehog, as it seemed that the green jewel in his hand had begun to react to something, the already iridescent glow it possessed growing brighter and brighter.

"Ah, wonderful!" Doom's Eye observed, his single optic taking in the glimmering, beautiful object in Shadow's palm, as if studying and memorizing every intricate detail of the stone. "You held little trouble in finding this one, I assume, yes?"

Naturally, of course, Shadow thought. Though he was more preoccupied with how, let alone why the six-limbed creature was so interested in it. That said, he hadn't forgotten what he was promised, even if he found himself more than hesitant to go through another experience like that again. Yet...if he could just see them, see her, the shape behind the glass. If he could confirm it was indeed her...

"Come." before Shadow could respond, let alone question what he meant, a single tentacle wormed its way around his right arm, and not but a moment later, his vision began traveling before him at a speed than even he could achieve on foot. He recognized this sensation, this was- "Here we are." even if he was familiar with it, one of the few things he held a good grasp of, the red streaked hedgehog found that it was a rather startling experience when it wasn't expected.

Now, at least judging from the same scene as before, yet being viewed from a good distance above, they were both atop of one of the several buildings in the city. "You..." true, he knew little. If he was being honest, now that this one-eyed creature was with him, he knew next to nothing. Yet Shadow never would've predicted that it, that Doom would've been capable of it. "You can use Chaos Control?"

"Oh, I can do more than that." Doom's Eye assured, though it seemed he was more than eager to change the subject. "The Emerald you currently possess is reacting. There must be another nearby."

"Clearly." Shadow replied, examining the green stone. Yet it dawned on him what had just been said. "How do you-"

"But my children can locate it with the one you hold now." a tentacle reached for the stone, yet the hedgehog immediately jerked it out of range. An action that Doom certainly wasn't pleased with, yet nevertheless, for the moment, appeared to simply be confused at Shadow's reluctance. "You came to find me, did you not?" the eye inquired. "And here you are. I would think that this meant you were going to take up my offer."

"How did you know that the Chaos Emeralds react to one another?" Shadow questioned.

"How? Surely, if I was searching for them, I would have at least some knowledge about them." Doom defended. "We are in the midst of chaos at the moment, yet when our work here is complete, it shall all be made clear to you."

Silence fell between the two, what was transpiring below nearly being forgotten entirely. The being's extension of its consciousness simply continued to look at Shadow, one single, red eye piercing and penetrating into his own. Suddenly, Shadow found himself, he wouldn't say overcome, yet he was definitely experiencing some sort of oddity. Some need, some urging had begun to seep into him, he finding the hand that held the green Chaos Emerald beginning to extend forward. Towards the Doom's Eye, as if he were presenting the glowing object for him to take. This realization of what he was about to do was enough to banish the urge from his mind, Shadow finding himself stumbling back and having to re-associate himself with his senses.

"Whatever is the matter?" the eye questioned, concerned. Or rather, he wished to be read as such.

 **Space Colony Ark**

Whatever was the matter...yeah right. He knew exactly what was going on. Though what exactly, Shadow still had no clue. Had he known what he knew now, at least about what that feeling, that sensation meant, what it would lead to, maybe he'd wouldn't have even taken to following him in Westopolis in the first place. Regardless, at the time, it was all that he had to go off of. What he had been shown before all this began for him...if that was truly 'her' behind the glass, if that was indeed this 'Maria'...then what other option was there?

He had begun his questioning of Doom regarding as to why all the chaos taking place, as it certainly didn't seem to be accomplishing anything for them. What he received as an answer didn't seem to accomplish much for him either.

"We are establishing a place for ourselves, Shadow." The floating eye had told him before. "There are things that we must do. Important things, things that we have been anticipating for some time now, and it cannot, nor will it be interrupted by these human grunts that wish to impede what we came here for." Then, as if sensing his own growing distrust of the thing, the eye turned to him, its sole featuring boring right into his two, red ones. "And from this, you shall regain all you've lost. And so much more. That, you can be certain of."

It was foolish of him in hindsight. Very foolish for him, but maybe...maybe it was this desperation of his, ashamed of it as he was, that even allowed him to consider following Doom and his 'eye' around. Even with that strange urging to give him the Emerald he had already obtained then, it was the closest he could get to maybe getting answers. He had not given into it, yet was asked by Doom to retrieve the second Emerald in Westopolis. He needn't worry about the 'children', for apparently Doom was certain that they wouldn't attack the far smaller, far leaner hedgehog. Odd, seeing as despite their numbers, they were indeed as complacent as Doom promised they would be.

At least until one of them tried to snag the Emerald away from him.

One of the creatures outright tried to take the green stone from his hands, he of course refusing to simply hand it over. It began to grow more and more aggressive overtime, outright swiping at him with its three claws, yet they never made contact with him. At first, Shadow didn't get it. It was clearly angry that he wasn't relinquishing it to him, yet if it was so insistent on taking it, why didn't it just strike him outright when it could very well do so? It was as if it was forcibly being held back. As if it wasn't 'allowed' to go any further.

And as luck would have it, whether due to it being sheer coincidence or due to some sort of foresight he was unaware of, the GUN soldiers that had made it to that particular section of the city saw this little exchange between the hedgehog and creature, along with the sight of the six-limbed anomaly alongside them and seemingly watching the madness unfold.

 **Westopolis**

"Look!" Shadow's ears twitched as a voice, undoubtedly one of the soldiers, shouted, apparently rather startled by something other than the large, hulking beasts running around. "Someone else is with them! And he's got one of the Chaos Emeralds!"

Oh, lovely. Just lovely. Apparently, this little sight had garnered the attention of the soldier's nearby comrades and they immediately drew their attention to him, as well as their loaded weapons. And to make matters worse, any and all sort of aggressive behavior towards him by the alien being had immediately ceased, its own blank, yellow eyes focused on the human forces surrounding both of them.

"Hey, wait a minute." Shadow heard one of them exclaim, squinting his eyes as if to better study him. "Isn't that Shadow?"

"Who?"

"You know, Shadow!" why these dolts needed to argue amongst themselves of who he was, he didn't know, his own lacking on the subject notwithstanding. He was here, so why not just talk to him directly? "Well…really, I don't know, but-"

"Wait, isn't he the guy that was mistaken as Sonic?"

Mistaken as Sonic? What? What kind of idiot would make THAT sort of mistake?! True, when he had come across him in the Lost Jungle, there was a good number of resemblances, yet pondering it further and as time went on, the fact that the two could maybe be mistaken for each other struck him as absolutely absurd. Even if he himself said he looked like his 'twin'…

'Fake? You compare yourself to me?'

"And didn't he, well, you know…Sonic told the Commander…" the soldier speaking said no more; simply giving the one he was addressing a rather uncomfortable look.

'Maria…this…this is what you wanted, right?'

Things…things were coming to him. They made no sense, nor could he put an image or place to them, but the echoes of his own voice in his head. What they were saying…somehow, it related to something he was trying to grasp. The very reason that he was even here in the first place. Yet how did THEY know all this?!

"But it can't be him then! He's here and he's with those aliens now! Just look at THAT thing!" one soldier shouted, gesturing towards Doom's Eye, who, along with the creature that had previously trying to take the Emerald from the smaller hedgehog, appeared oddly, almost unnaturally calm.

"He assisted in stopping Eggman's latest stunt with eleven others! Surely you remember that!"

Voices…so many voices in his head.

"Look at him though! He's got those red markings just like those creatures!"

"But Sonic knows him! Even better, they helped each other out twice! Isn't that enough?"

Shadow's temple felt as if it were on fire. This…no. No, he could handle this. In fact, he'd make clear that he could! He would march right up and demand that they tell him everything they knew about-

"You know what our orders are." His eyes down as a gloved hand clasped his throbbing head; Shadow could distinctly hear a weapon being cocked. He held no idea why, along with much else, yet the sound made his blood run cold. And had he turned around to see it, he would've caught the glint of satisfaction the single eyed extension of Doom's held at that very moment. "Look around you! We can't take any chances!"

It was then that the eye decided to make its move. 'I suggest you make yourself scarce, now!'

Not that he needed to be told such a thing, he already sensing that things were not going good for him, yet Shadow found himself struggling to regain concentration after the barrage of that voice, his own voice, playing back things he couldn't reach or grasp. Why these humans brought such to him, he had no idea, yet, even if he wasn't wishing to outwardly admit it (and he wouldn't), Doom held a good point in perhaps getting out of here for the time being.

Yet as Shadow raised the green Emerald high to activate Chaos Control, a shot rang out and if not for him moving at that exact moment, the bullet would've torn right through his hand! His concentration must've been affected by that bout more than he initially suspected.

Still, it didn't hamper his rage. "What do you think you're doing?!" the streaked hedgehog bellowed, noticing his cheek had been grazed slightly by the bullet. His answer was simply the soldiers approaching him, along with the order to 'Freeze!' and to drop the Emerald.

Fitting, because he too had an answer for this. Something that would perhaps actually force them to prove themselves as the so-called competent militia they claimed to be.

"Hey, I said-"

The GUN soldier suddenly had his vision consumed in a blur of ebony as he suddenly became aware that one moment, he was standing, and the next, he was on the ground. Even more, the one that they were trying to apprehend was gone.

 **Space Colony Ark**

Did he regret it? Honestly, no. Frankly, the way Shadow saw it, even if he had gone there for his own purposes, he had made not one aggressive gesture towards any of GUN's men. True, it far from looked good on his part, yet they had come towards him first. And last time he checked, he didn't pick up one of their weapons and start firing at them! If any of them came towards them, he only responded accordingly.

Yet even then, while he did fight back when they got too close or still came despite his warnings, Shadow could at least say that none of their blood had been on their hands. It wasn't as if he held high reservations for them anyway, and even if they had been particularly troublesome for him in his trek for the Emeralds...he couldn't find it in himself to actually deliver the final blow to any of them, no matter how many shots were fired directly at him. Why this was, he didn't know, or maybe he did, yet just couldn't exactly grasp it.

'Give them a chance to be happy...'

"Ugh!" Shadow had to stop momentarily. Another painful headache had come, he having to support himself against the wall as his fingers desperately tried to massage away the pounding in his temple.

It was her voice...her voice, yet he couldn't see her! Why couldn't he see her?! He wanted to see her in his mind's eye at least! He NEEDED to! Even...even if it sounded like there would be little else from her afterward. Maybe that's when…it happened.

She did something for him. Something large, something that changed the course of things, forever.

And maybe that was why, even with him only doing so much with the GUN soldiers in terms of violence, that one, last incident in Westopolis, even now, still managed to prick a little bit of guilt in his admittedly hardened heart.

 **Westopolis**

Whether he would've reacted non-violently or not, it seemed that it would've mattered little, as it seemed that the fact Shadow bore a good degree of traits similar to the invaders, along with the fact he had technically assaulted one of their own (something of which he scoffed at, he was far from seriously injured, disoriented at most) had passed to near every GUN recruit in the vicinity. And with that, came the order to apparently unleash fire upon him.

'Typical.' The hedgehog thought, though why such a presumption of them had come, along with the familiarity of said behavior, only made him move his legs with increased vigor, jet shoes carrying him closer and closer to the next Emerald.

Doom's Eye, for entirety of the entire time, had been floating beside him, something of which was not helping his case in the eyes of the soldiers they were going past. As if he were intentionally staying close, making sure that the two of them were seen together.

Shadow, however, didn't get much time to realize this particularly convenient setup as a hail of bullets nearly met them both, forcing both the hedgehog and the floating eye to duck into a nearby alleyway to avoid the oncoming gunfire.

'I am getting tired of this…' Shadow growled to himself, yet despite keeping the sentiment from leaving his lips, the floating eye seemed to be able to read this growing frustration of his clearly.

"Then do something about it." He even had a suggestion ready. "Fight them."

"You think I don't know that already?" Shadow shot back, the torn skin on his tan muzzle still producing an annoying sting. "They're an annoyance, for sure. But the Chaos Emeralds are my concern."

"No good if they catch you." Doom retorted, his single eye falling on an abandoned pistol lying on the ground nearby. Out in the open, yes, yet in reach. "So best to make quick of them now. Though," and to his delight, Shadow too noticed the lone weapon. "However you see fit to is fine. Whatever your preference."

There was no debate on that, Shadow immediately averting his eyes from the pistol, gazing intently at the eye. "I'm not touching it." This seemed to puzzle the single eyed creature, its entire form tilting itself as if to ask why. "I…" there wasn't a problem with the pistol per say…yet the sight of it, let alone the implication that it was possible for him to take it and make use of it…Shadow held no clear idea why, but the thought more than angered him. "I don't want it, let alone need it." It outright disgusted him. Even more, it…offended him. "It's below me."

"Then defend yourself at the very least!" Doom insisted. "They won't allow you to leave this place now. They have seen both of us together, and have already made clear that any and all associated with us must be taken care of."

"Obviously!"

He drew closer, both of them shielded from the chaos outside the alley momentarily, yet only for a short while more at least. And he wasn't wasting this chance he had been given. "Would you rather they catch you? And don't think they're incapable of doing so! Neither my children nor me have harmed you in any way, yet these humans wish to see you dead already! We, I want to help you. And only I can-"

"THEY'RE IN HERE!"

Not that he believed that he could make use of this retreat for much longer, Shadow found that, at the very least, the alleyway gave him a bit of an advantage, especially with the heavy darkness in the small space. The soldier that had taken notice of him was met with a kick to his face, sending him stumbling back, yet still on his feet. His thick visor that all GUN personal wore was somewhat cracked. He fired, yet as soon as his weapon began to release its contents, it was promptly knocked from his hands and he, along with the assault rifle, dropped to the pavement below. He began to reach for it, yet a red and white shoe rested upon the weapon, the owner taking a moment to gaze upon the firearm under his heel.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Shadow growled, narrowing his ruby red eyes at the weapon, then to the soldier now cowering on the ground. Yet in the corner of his eye, he noticed something odd. Doom's Eye was gone.

Thankfully for the panicked recruit, this temporary distraction was what he needed. Reaching for something on his utility belt, the cubic shaped device being practically yanked from its place as he frantically pressed what would hopefully lead to him being saved. "I've got him!" he hollered in the walkie-talkie. "He's here at Seventh Street! I'm disarmed! Hurry! We can get him if we-" he had managed to get that through, yet no further as the black hedgehog promptly snatched his means of salvation from his hands and threw it to the ground, his shoe reducing it to little more than a pile of broken, burning plastic and wire.

"W-Wait!" the soldier began to plea, backing up, all the while having his concealed eyes saw his weapon was just out of reach. "You don't know what you're up against! We…we've got some of the finest here, ready to take you on!"

"Oh really?" Shadow retorted, having had more than enough. Reaching forward, the soldier didn't have the chance to try and even escape before his collar was seized, the smaller hedgehog actually managing to keep a firm hold on him. "Then tell those so called 'finest' that the only problem we're going to have is the one that THEY make themselves! I have no interest in you, but if you keep firing those little toys of yours, I'm NOT going to simply allow you to continue being an annoyance to me!"

"D-Don't!" the soldier suddenly cried out, seemingly any and all bravado completely gone. Shadow hadn't noticed before, yet the man sounded rather young compared to the others in the area. No more than…perhaps even younger than twenty-five or so. "Don't kill me! I'm begging you!"

'Shadow! I beg you!'

Kill? He…he thought that-

"Shadow, what are you doing?!"

'Shadow! I beg you!'

He thought that he was going to-

"What's up with you?! Let go! You're hurting him!" a pair of hands grasped onto his, the sudden jolt forcing Shadow to let go of the young man garbed in combat gear, the red striped hedgehog coming to find that none other than the one he had lost sight off a distance away had been the one to seize him.

"Y-You?! What…" realizing that he was still in the blue hedgehog's grasp, Shadow jerked his hands away, his previously brought on stupor wearing off. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Let's clear up a few things first." Sonic answered back. "One, totally unfair to go and take off while those black creeps were in the way. Two, that should be MY question!" he then gestured towards the soldier still on the ground. "What's your problem? Not really a fan of them myself, but regardless, he's on our side in this!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll say that when they're the ones firing bullets at you!" Shadow retorted, gesturing towards the graze on his cheek.

Surprisingly enough, Sonic didn't have a response to that, he turning to the still frightened recruit, an evidently very young individual, and then back to Shadow. "He did this to you?"

"Not him specifically." Despite his claim, Sonic didn't have the time, nor the speed to ask who was addressing him, for as if having materialized behind Shadow himself, the black hedgehog actually caught off guard by this, a singled eyed, tentacle bearing 'thing' of sorts emerged. "One of his fellow grunts. Though…" he, or maybe it, Sonic was unsure, seemed to gaze off in the distance, something of satisfaction on what little features it had. "It is taken care of now."

"Uh, Shadow?" Sonic questioned, more than a little befuddled, not to mention disgusted, at the strange looking anomaly floating near them. "You know this…guy?" at least, to him, it certainly didn't sound remotely female in any sense, yet just looking at it yielded no for sure confirmation.

This apparently was something the single eyed creature wasn't wishing to hear, impressively enough (for something with one eye) glaring daggers at the blue speedster. "We are in the midst of important work." The eye snarled. "Work that hold no place for the likes of you."

"Well, thank you so much for the warm welcome." Sonic scoffed. "A lot of nerve for a giant starfish." Of course, it didn't take long for him to process what the aforementioned 'starfish had just told him. "Wait, what's this 'we' business?"

Indeed, Shadow thought, turning his attention to conveniently reappearing Doom. Just what was this 'we' business?! First he goes off and leaves him to deal with that still trembling recruit and now he thinks he can outright SPEAK for him?!

"Shadow, what's he talking about-" Sonic questioned, he now wanting to know a few answers from the darker colored hedgehog, if at least to confirm whether or not what this thing was saying held any truth to it.

"FREEZE!"

Though, unfortunately, it seemed that fate, along with the armada in the city, had other ideas in store.

Those 'finest' that the disarmed soldier was talking about had apparently responded to the call, those that could make it through the fire and over the toppled vehicles, as well as the attacking creatures were now surrounding the two hedgehogs and the floating anomaly, weapons at the ready.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" one amongst the small cluster that had formed around them called out. "We require that you step back."

Great. Just GREAT. Shadow shot a piercing glare at the eye, yet this seemed to have little to no effect on the creature. If anything, and even more infuriating, it actually seemed like it was satisfied with what was happening now, as if it were silently telling him 'I told you so.'

"No, no guys, it's fine!" Sonic began, waving his hands as if to display that everything here was fine. "Shadow here's a friend of mine! On the Egg Fleet, remember? He was one of the guys that helped kick Metal's-"

"We require that you step back!" the soldier stated again, far more firmly this time. "He's suspected in assisting the invaders gather the Chaos Emeralds!"

Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. They…they dared to-

"Even more, he's already assaulted a good few of our own already!"

Only because they had gone and fired at him with little to no provocation! And based on what?! That one creature was trying to take the Emerald away from him! Surely they weren't as stupid as that to believe-

"You must act soon." Doom's Eye urged, drawing closer and closer to Shadow, this only inciting the soldiers to grow more cautious. "You cannot allow them to take you."

"Stop it." Shadow commanded, taking note of how the very act of the eye communicating with him was far from painting him in a good light to his surrounding aggressors. "You're making it worse. I didn't come here to deal with any of this nonsense!"

"What are they saying?" he heard some begin to say, hushed whispers and questions being passed from person to person. "That thing was seen with those creatures before too. They're connected somehow, I know it!"

He had more than enough, gripping tightly on the green stone he held in his possession. The sensation of the stone's energy flowing through him began to course through his body, yet, oddly enough; it didn't exactly bear the same feeling as Chaos Control. Odd, given that was what Shadow was trying to execute.

BANG!

A bullet firing at the ground broke his concentration, and to the hedgehog's own shame, began to stir in him a growing and engulfing panic. These soldiers all around them…guns in hand and at the ready, ready to fire. This…he didn't understand. What was going on? The situation, he being surrounded by these men and women with loaded weapons and somehow ending up being stuck in the middle between Sonic trying to convince them he wasn't a threat and this strange eye creature trying to convince Shadow that these humans were the threat, oh yeah, he got that. Got that it was absolute garbage.

Yet the fact he was surrounded…no, not just that. Surrounded by these particular people…and not just him, yet someone else was with him…someone brought into this, and Doom's insistence for him to not allow them to have their way with him…not that he would, yet it wasn't due to pride. Shadow, for reasons he couldn't explain or even work out, found himself actually finding Doom's statements about what they could and probably would do making complete sense!

"They'll imprison you!" he continued to tell Shadow, whether he wished to hear it or not. "They'd kill you if they could! Then you will never be able to gain the Emeralds!"

"Shadow, is any of this true? Did you really attack some of these guys?" Sonic questioned Shadow, of whom he noticed was growing incredibly tense. As well as some sort of strange, faint, yet still present hue of red beginning to come to his darkly colored form.

"You have one in your possession now. Use its power to be rid of them!" Doom urged, this clearly doing little to assist Shadow in this situation. If anything, from what Sonic observed, the creature seemed to almost be deliberately trying to make it worse, that in turn making the red hue stronger and more prominent.

"Hey, what are you up to?" the blue speedster inquired, directing his attention to Doom's Eye, though he in turn seemed uninterested in even responding to him.

"Do it now! Only through defeating them now will you be able to gain back what you've lost!"

"Hey, starfish! I'm talking to you!"

"Do it! Only we can help you, Shadow!"

'Hurry! We've got to get to the emergency exit!'

The soldiers were coming in on them. Coming in on him. Yet…Shadow didn't know what he was even seeing! Was he still in the city, or somewhere else?! They kept flashing back and forth, the damaged, burning image of Westopolis or somewhere composed of sleek, well-lit, winding hallways? Hallways that looked like where…where she had been running, her face twisted and blue eyes wide in terror.

"Do it!"

"Stop…"

"Shadow?"

"DO IT NOW!"

"Shadow, what's wrong?"

"STOP!"

 **Space Colony Ark**

Even now, as he sped through the same halls of the very place his mind forced him back to, Shadow still held little remembrance of what actually happened when he found he could take no more in that situation. He had meant to perform Chaos Control and simply make his way out of there to where it would've been easier to retrieve the other Emerald in the city, nothing more. Yet having all of those soldiers surround and close in on him…he wouldn't say he was afraid. He feared absolutely nothing, yet something about it, it seemed to…invoke something that caused him to lash out as he did.

If they wanted a fight, then by all means, he would give them one, yet he didn't intend for what happened to occur. He didn't mean for what came afterward, from that burst of building Chaos Energy.

It wasn't Chaos Control, and it certainly wasn't Chaos Spear or Lance, yet it was definitely related, though he had only seen it first hand then. The portions he could remember, at least in retrospect and when he forced himself to dig and unveil as much as he could, was that, for just a moment, all he was seeing was bright red. Nothing but a large, outward hue of bright crimson being forced from him, everything burning and on fire in his body, and then…nothing. Nothing but each and every one of those soldiers surrounding him lying on the ground.

And it wasn't just them, looking around, Shadow saw that a good number of objects and even a couple of vehicles in the vicinity had been thrown back a good few feet, the radius of the blast or whatever it was far larger than he initially suspected. Sonic was nowhere to be seen, Shadow, at the time, having no idea where he had gone, let alone if he managed to get out of the way in time, or if he had been blown back someplace he couldn't be seen. The soldiers, at least from what he could discern, at least didn't appear to be dead, yet all the same, it was undeniable that he had injured them to a good degree.

He…he hadn't intended to do any of that. Was he willing to attack them? Yes, especially if they didn't lay off and leave him be, yet he didn't intend for whatever THAT was to happen. It wasn't even what he was initially trying to do, yet whether do to the extreme emotions he found himself thrown into or the fact he had two separate voices trying to fight for his attention, coupled with the flashes between Westopolis and what he could only assume was here, he wasn't sure. If anything, Shadow thought, it wouldn't surprise him if it were all of those.

Still, it was a loss of power he experienced. A loss of control over the situation, over his own, usually tightly monitored and suppressed emotions, and a loss over who was saying what, let alone who to even listen to.

The only thing he was certain of, in that moment was that another one of the Chaos Emeralds had still been free. And ultimately, with little else but that to go on, Shadow, even with some hesitance, sped along and out of the area, if not to simply collect himself without having to look at what had just happened.

If it wasn't obvious before that Black Doom was not revealing all that he could, it certainly was in that moment, Shadow also noting that, once again, the single-eyed extension of himself was gone. At first, his knowledge of things that he couldn't have possibly known, let alone what he had personally shown Shadow first hand, as much as he despised it, at the time, he was the most solid lead he knew he had in gaining what he wanted, what he needed. Each and every bit and piece of it.

Though that said, from that moment on, Shadow decided that, before going any further, there were a good degree of things that he was going to have to relay if Doom wished to even have just a sliver of the hedgehog's trust, of which was far from in a good position then.

And when he found the second Emerald in Westopolis, the Blue Topaz, as expected, Doom had come.

 **Westopolis**

To Shadow's surprise and befuddlement, the particular area of Westopolis the second Emerald was nestled in seemed relatively unaffected. True, there was evidence of Doom's 'children' having been through here, yet whether it was due to this being one of the areas they attacked first or were driven off from, it ultimately didn't matter. It was practically empty now, and whatever trace of either human forces or alien had all but been transferred elsewhere.

Certainly made finding the golden colored stone easier, he possibly could have done so without the other in his possession. Simply sitting in the midst of broken rubble, glowing and radiating its energy as if it, like the other, had wished for Shadow to come and collect it. Though such a thing was immediately pushed from the hedgehog's mind. These stones were powerful; obviously, he needed only to reflect back on the sight of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles having been graced with their powers when the three had taken it upon themselves to bring down Metal Sonic. Yet the Emeralds seemingly presenting themselves out to where he would surely find them? No, that was far too convenient.

Convenient, and-

"Ah, there you are."

Almost intentionally planned out.

Turning around, as he had suspected, Doom's Eye had come to see he had acquired another Chaos Emerald, his single optic gazing down at the two stones in Shadow's possession. "Excellent work, Shadow." The floating creature congratulated, the hedgehog, despite himself, finding Doom's congrats almost comparable to that of a parent celebrating their child's success. "Oh yes indeed…" a single tentacle began to reach for the glimmering objects before him. "These will do just nicely…"

The tentacle never managed to even lightly touch the surface, as the hands holding them jerked them from reach at the last moment. The eye immediately directed his attention on Shadow, and he on the eye. Doom appeared confused, or at least wished to portray himself as such, the equally black hedgehog, however, still retaining his eyes of steel.

"You better start talking and talking fast." Shadow snarled, quickly averting his eyes for just a second to double check that the two were the only ones in the area. In case one of those 'children' of his attempted to try and steal from him again. "Back there, with the human soldiers, what in the world WAS that?" the eye didn't respond, simply gazing wide-eyed at Shadow, as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Talk. You know what that was, I know you do."

For a few moments more, Doom still remained silent, yet as it was becoming clear Shadow was losing his patience, finally, he spoke. "I would've assumed you'd be pleased with the results. After all, if anything, it displayed your grasp on how to use the power of these stones well."

"You're not answering my question."

Not yet, Doom thought. Oh, he would require some discipline in the future, but not now. For now, he had to keep him here, at least until, if need be, he could execute his alternative plan. "The technique is called 'Chaos Blast'." The eye explained. "It's an outward projection of Chaos energy once said energy has reached its peak. Aside from Chaos Control it is a technique that can be increased in potency, especially with how many of the Emeralds one has in their possession."

Well, that did little good. Shadow at least now knew what the red blast was called, its name appropriate enough, yet still, it only brought forth another, and following that, yet another. "How would you know that?" he begun. "Even better, how does any of this here play into what you promised me?"

"They would've come for us." Doom insisted. It seemed that, to his dismay, there had been quite a bit of tampering. Both then and now. "Besides, what does it matter now? You've attacked some of them already, and the Chaos Blast has surely injured a good number of them. And that's assuming some of them weren't sent flying into poles or one of the several vehicles thrown about." He began to swivel around, reaching for the two Emeralds. "But neither I or my children have attempted to harm you in any way, unlike those humans. I am your friend, Shadow. The only friend that truly matters now. Help us acquire the Chaos Emeralds, and what you seek, what you pine for will finally be bestowed upon you-"

"That's another thing." Shadow interrupted, once again yanking the two stones out of Doom's reach. "Why do you even need me to begin with? From the looks of it, you've got several of you 'children' running around. And from what I've seen, they seem pretty capable of simply picking up something shiny and carrying it with them!"

The eye's demeanor began to change, Doom remaining silent, yet still, it was evident that whatever sort of helpful comfort he was trying to convey was beginning to crumble.

Still, that mattered not to Shadow, he being far from done. "More so, even with everything I've mentioned, you've yet to provide me with anything else of value! True, you know things that only I or select others around me could, yet the things I don't know, what I can't recall, no matter how hard I try, you've shown that this 'bargain' is going to mainly be me giving, and you taking!" he then turned his back to the being. "The way I see it, these Emeralds are mine. And unless you make a legitimate case for yourself, and actually are willing to hold up your end instead of taunting me with one, barely comprehensible sliver in which I was barely aware or awake, then clearly I've wasted my time even coming here."

Shadow then began to walk away, and for a short time, it seemed that Doom didn't even bother to try and collect him, let alone call for him to come back. Nothing but the echoes of his own footsteps resonated throughout the small, relatively lifeless portion of Westopolis. True, the possibility of Doom having TRULY allowing him to leave set in, that in itself not bothering Shadow. Now it became of what direction would he be going in now?

The human forces were out of the question, the graze on his cheek still more than enough evidence of that, and even if he did, despite his pride never allowing such a thing, go peacefully with them, would that even accomplish anything? Highly doubtful. There was also Sonic, of whom he had no idea regarding his current whereabouts. Given his self-proclaimed title of 'fastest thing alive' (Shadow was doubtful of such a claim for obvious reasons), he was far more apt at dodging something like that export of energy, or Chaos Blast as Doom called it, better than the GUN soldiers. Though if not…then...

"It seems it was not only your most recent containment that produced damage."

Unfortunately, any further contemplation on what his next step should be were rendered useless as before the darkly colored hedgehog, that floating eye he had grown accustomed to seeing teleported directly in his path.

"The Professor must have done far more to your memory than even I initially suspected."

Shadow had no intention on listening what he had to say, especially now, yet what had but been told to him managed to stop him in his tracks. Professor…that title bore some sense of familiarity to it, yes, but…he didn't believe that Doom was referring to Eggman. Professor…another recitation of the word brought forth an image, faint and easy to miss, yet from that 'vision' from within the capsule of green fluid…the taller of the two figures…Shadow found that somehow, in some way even he didn't entirely know, it somehow applied to him, despite how his vision in that was greatly inhibited.

"But that can be refurbished." With this, Shadow was more than ready and able to demand and force (if need be, and perhaps that would be the case) the six limbed creature to begin relaying all he knew, yet before anything could be said, the hedgehog's red eyes saw before him, from behind the smaller, floating eye, something seemed to be materializing. Indeed, something, some form far larger than the eye was beginning to take shape. "At the moment, there is a far more pressing matter, mainly that of your desperate need for correction and discipline."

He wanted to fight. Fight definitely, yet still, flight presented itself as an option. Yet Shadow, to his dismay and shock, found he could do neither. His body seemed to be disobeying every single order his instincts were giving him, not even able to make use of the newfound Chaos Blast against Doom's Eye or even take off with the two Emeralds he already had. As if some unseen force was compelling him to stay put, even against his very will.

Yet as he felt the sensation of rough, pebbled skin forcing itself onto his shoulder, it seemed that the form previously materializing from behind the still present eye had finally become complete, the same, horned being from before, along with his 'eye', speaking in unison with each other.

"Fortunately for you, I have the perfect method to educate you that such disrespectful conduct will not be tolerated!"

 **Note: Details will be adjusted accordingly to the story, such as dialogue and whatnot, and while I don't want to be haughty or anything, yet sometimes the original game's script (at least the English version) seemed either generic or didn't make much sense (like Shadow just up and follows Doom into the city for no reason, without any sort of proof or indication he truly knew more about him).**

 **Also, given how this prologue of sorts is meant to tie into the rest of the story to come, I'll also be hinting at things and elements that'll come into play later, things that readers of the old story might recognize.**

 **Anyway, let me know if you see any errors that I might've missed, whether you like (or don't) this beginning better than the last one, and I hope you guys will stick with me in the future!**


	2. Catalyst of Convergence Part 2

**Note: 2nd part came a little early, huh? Well, this was sort of written in advance for the version on Archive of Our Own, so I hope I don't get anyone's hopes up as updates usually never come this early (though I'd kill if they could). Anyhow, thanks a ton for the favs and reviews thus far, especially BlazePyro who's been with me on this for some time now.**

 **As for why I'm going in this route for the rewrite, it's mainly due to from how the last version began and from the game's final ending, it doesn't exactly make sense. Thus, I sort of had to make this story an AU/Canon Divergence to a degree as up until the last segment of the 'Truth of Sadness' path (aka the order laid out in the 1st chapter from the game), it mainly follows that, though that is just one of the many 'alternate' paths you can take. I'm not exactly bummed out or anything, as I feel this'll make what'll come later make more sense and have more of a place, and besides, it's fanfiction anyway so fitting into canon doesn't exactly matter to a degree (just as long as characters act close enough and real enough, development withstanding, etc.). And given what'll happen later...yeah, some of the changes are going to be WAY noticeable to not make note of. Sonic X at least acknowledged that half of the moon was blown off.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling, here's part 2 of the prologue. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence Part 2**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sonic Team and Sega**

Even with everything that he had experienced thus far put into perspective, along with several other possibilities and 'what if's' that swam and swamped his mind, Shadow found that, as with much else to this point, the portion of time between his time and Westopolis and where he ended up next were completely lost. And despite his reluctance to admit it, perhaps his estimation of Black Doom and the hoard of similar looking creatures accompanying him were greatly mistaken.

He, from the bits and fragments he could recall, had become completely enveloped in an all consuming flash of red, hot light, his senses briefly leaving him and for reasons he still held no explanation for, slipped into unconsciousness.

'Had he been responsible for that?' Shadow pondered, the empty corridors on this side of the Ark proving to thankfully be free of any GUN soldiers or Black Arms alike. Though perhaps the latter might've been welcome, as at least that'd provide him with some sort of potential lead as to where their 'parent' possibly was. Still, even with that, where he had been taken to and what occurred there...no. No, he didn't dare entertain the thought. 'He…he doesn't have that much power.' The darkly colored hedgehog told himself. 'He can't. I…'

'Touch it…'

As if he had just experienced something painful, Shadow bit down hard on his lip and jerked his head to the side, the action doing little to banish what had come to his mind, though all the while, he was making clear that he was not going to acknowledge it. In fact, he would simply use it to his advantage. He'd simply factor this into further fuel his search for the horned being! He held nothing over him! Nothing! Absolutely nothing! He was the Ultimate Lifeform! Ultimate in every way, and in no way able to be affected by-

'Touch it…'

'Don't think about it.' he ordered himself. 'Keep going. Find him. Make him reveal EVERYTHING.'

This mantra was ultimately doing its job well, urging and motivating the red streaked hedgehog forward, yet even as the repetition continued, albeit with some wear on him as the fact he was having to resort to this, let alone having something even bother this much was absurd.

All the same, however, what had occurred when he had come to proved that indeed, there was much, much more that he had yet to discover about the unearthly visitor, as well as how much he truly knew, beyond that of the hedgehog's own lost and sorted history.

 **Glyphic Canyon**

He became aware that he was not in the ruined city anymore by the sensation of warmth enveloping his backside, identifying them as the rays of the sun that had just begun to peak over the mountains.

That was the second sign he was definitely not in the city anymore.

Instead of blackened, cracked pavement below him, aged stone with varying patches of moss growing atop of it, one of which, Shadow found, he had been reclining atop of, the soft fungi actually doing a good job at cushioning the side of his head compared to what the rest of his body had seemingly lay upon.

Holding his head up, eyes still adjusting to the sudden, burning light of the distant star, the black hedgehog found that he was, or rather, had been taken to somewhere quite unfamiliar to him. Even if recollection, at least for now, wasn't exactly a strong suit of his (to his dismay), he was sure that he had never been here before. The area appeared to be a highly elevated, mountainous region with a dense collection of flora nestled near the cliff sides. He was atop of something, some structure of hardened, aged rock, a walkway, or maybe a bridge. And just ahead of him, little more than a few yards away, was what appeared to be a large, almost monolithic structure of sorts, or at least perhaps part of it. Towering and assumedly ancient in origin, it bore resemble to that of a native temple. In fact, from looking around and seeing little else in the barren landscape, it seemed as if the very canyon itself was housed solely by this place. Made for it even.

'Grandfather's been experimenting again. From what I've read here, those things, 'Artificial Chaos' I think, are based on an ancient god that the tribes once worshiped. I think that's fascinating…'

Shadow shook his head. What it was, exactly, let alone what purpose it served, he wasn't sure. All the same, he concluded there was little good in simply staying here.

Shadow, to his own surprise, found that it took him a few tries to even haul his form up to a standing position, his legs nearly giving way the first time he managed to even stand. What in the world had that…thing done to him?! Even more, how long had he been out for?!

When the invaders began descending from the reddened skies, he remembered very distinctly (ironic, all things considered) that the sun was just setting. And it had set by the time he had arrived, so the duration between then and now couldn't have been too much longer since then. The next day perhaps, early morning, give or take a few hours.

Yet still, the fact that he was so unprepared, so easily overtaken by Doom to where he, for what he could tell, was not only rendered unconscious, but whisked away to some location that he had no clue about…Shadow didn't exactly care to admit it, yet deep down, such a thing managed to unnerve him greatly.

But he was awake and aware now. And more importantly, ready to get out of here. Reaching for the Chaos Emerald stationed to his right...wait.

"What the?!" Shadow's ruby eyes began darting around, head turning from side to side, searching for a vibrant green or golden yellow around him. "Where'd they go?!"

Indeed, for it seemed that no matter where he looked, there seemed to be absolutely no trace of the two stones of power anywhere nearby. Unless they perhaps fell down one of the deep chasms below the stone bridge he was upon, something of which he deemed unlikely. Still, where in the world where they?! He had them right in his hands last he recalled, and he was definitely not foolish or careless enough to just go and lose them!

Shadow paused for a moment, his eyes gazing at his open palms. He had them…right in his hands…when Black Doom had…

The realization had then come to him, along with the sparks of an unrelenting, uncompromising ire. He had taken them. He had STOLEN from him. Between the times he had been rendered unconscious and when he had been deposited here, what he had traversed that burning metropolis to obtain amidst the fires and bullets to obtain on the promise of acquiring more of what he had been bestowed upon the horned being's first contact with him…and here he had gone and outright robbed him of what he had achieved?!

"Hm?" regardless of how enraged he currently was, he hadn't gone deaf, Shadow's ears twitching as they recognized that, to his surprise, another soul had apparently found their way into this seemingly isolated place. "Another one, huh?" Even more, from the sound of it, not only was the voice familiar, it seemed rather cautious at first.

CRACK

This even more evident by the sound of knuckles being cracked. Hard. They were definitely prepared to get physical if need be. Though Shadow needn't whirl around and either attempt to tell his aggressor to cease or fight back himself.

"Oh." Thankfully, they had come to recognize who was before them. "It's only you."

Turning around, Shadow came to see that indeed, someone had found him. Particularly, a lone echidna bearing long, crimson quills and a striking, white marking upon his chest, resembling that of a crescent moon flipped on its side, or at least that's the closest thing Shadow could compare it to. Aside from white, spiked gloves on his hands and the green socks and red and yellow shoes with an unusual, cubic-like piece stationed where laces or straps would be, the bipedal, monotreme mammal bore no other article of clothing.

And despite his surprise in seeing that anyone else was here in this unfamiliar place, from the relaxed, yet still present tension in the echidna's violet eyes, Shadow found himself considering in asking something other than what he was doing here. As well as what in the world that strange, green liquid was that had dripped on or somehow gotten onto his gloves.

"Kind of a pity." Knuckles began, sighing, through this seemed to be from a bit of present frustration. "And here I thought that I had gotten a head start in scouring this place."

"What were you talking about?"

The echidna raised a brow at this. "Excuse me?"

"You said 'another one'." Shadow explained, finding it rather fortunate that at the very least, a mildly reliable source of information was available. Better than nothing, as it seemed that, oddly enough, Knuckles seemed more comfortable in this environment than he did. "Another one what?"

Knuckles didn't answer at first, rather, it seemed his eyes had begun to survey and observe the darkly colored hedgehog before him. Scanning his features and analyzing what he could see. For what reason, Shadow at first didn't know, yet not long after this small session of visual study, it seemed that the red monotreme was seriously contemplating something.

What that was though, he didn't reveal, yet all the same, Shadow couldn't say he particularly liked the look the echidna gave him. "What are you doing here anyway, Shadow?"

"I think I asked you a question first." Now he definitely didn't like the look Knuckles was presenting him with. If anything, from his tone, it was almost as if he were wary of him, as if he had done some act to invoke some sort of suspicion.

Thankfully for both of them, despite their start being less than desirable, Knuckles ultimately obliged and began telling the hedgehog his side of things, though mainly being that he wanted to make clear he had nothing to hide. "Well, for starters, seeing as its been rather quiet since the who deal with the Egg Fleet and Metal Sonic, I thought that maybe it'd be a good time to go out for a little exploring. Hadn't really been out on a treasure hunt in a while, and I've to make sure my skills aren't rusty."

That didn't exactly answer his question, but still, Shadow didn't say a word, it obvious that compared to him, Knuckles held far more knowledge on where he had been dumped off at than he.

"And this place here's been in my sights for a good while now. So I've been preparing over the last few weeks or so to come on down here." He then looked forward, eyeing the far off structure. "Though what I DIDN'T count on was a bunch of these black creatures popping up and heading on up here too."

Black creatures? As in, the same he too had seen not but a few hours ago?

"They were in quite a hurry to get here from what I've seen." Knuckles continued. "Some noticed that I had made a short stop on my own trek here and decided to try and pick a fight." As if to further confirm this, he gazed at his stained gloves. "Kind of made a bit of a mess back there too. Not my first choice, but…it just happened so suddenly."

Ah, it was blood then. Brightly colored, green, and quite fittingly, alien looking blood. The fact that some of those things had been taken out was somewhat pleasing, given what they had just caused for Shadow in Westopolis. But still, a few questions still rose up despite receiving an answer as to why Knuckles was here and what he was even talking about.

'Another one…' that's what he said before he had seemingly realized it was indeed Shadow. Was he actually being compared to one of them? 'No.' he affirmed to himself. 'Don't be a fool.' Indeed, what was he thinking? The echidna was simply mistaken, that was all. They had just come this way, he was chasing them, and from a distance, the black hedgehog just happened to have some features that he mistook for…Shadow paused.

"They then split off, going this way and that, which is when followed some of them here. That's when I saw you just standing there." He just so happened to think that maybe he was one of them, another one…but…but that wasn't…"Speaking of which, what are you doing here anyway?" Thinking about it now, the hedgehog found himself beginning to find some, albeit small, comparisons between himself and those creatures. Again, small, as the notion that he was in any way associated with them was absurd, and any chance of that being quickly done away with now, but still, he could at least notice some things. Particularly the black coloring and red patches of skin upon their bodies. "Shadow?" But…but those were such small things. They didn't mean anything. Still, he couldn't shake this feeling, this growing discomfort in even acknowledging that he and them actually had some similar features to each other. Why was that? "Shadow!"

As forceful (and unwanted) as it was, the light shake that Knuckles was currently giving the streaked hedgehog was just what he needed, being brought from those unpleasant realizations that brought him such uneasiness. Yet still, it didn't matter. No, not at all. Not at all…

"I hear you fine! I'm not deaf!" Shadow answered back, promptly removing the echidna's gloved hand from his shoulder with a swift jerk. "In fact, I'm fairly certain that even those things heard you too!" he turned for a moment, gazing in the structure's direction. "Though…" he began, unsure of why there seemed to be a twinge of uncertainty in his voice, yet still, he continued. "You are sure you saw them go this way?"

"Positive." Knuckles growled, brushing his chest off. "Besides…I take it that you've been here for a while, right?"

There was no mistaking it. The echidna was definitely studying him as if he were under suspicion. Shadow remained quiet because, frankly, nothing he would've said would've probably made much of a difference. But then, the echidna raised quite an interesting point.

"Because if they DID come this way, as in, over this particular bridge, seems rather strange that they'd just see you laying there and go on by."

Shadow found himself wishing to speak, wishing to dispel and be rid of the seeds of mistrust beginning to grow. He cared not what Knuckles thought of him, but he wanted to make clear that he had no affiliation with those things.

Of course, all the same, his observation brought up quite the perplexing inquiry. If they had come that way, even if the echidna confessed that they seemed to spread out in various directions, as well as not even being sure if they had crossed the bridge he had woken up on, then why leave him there?

They had seemed so eager to approach him, if not bold enough to try and steal the first Chaos Emerald he had collected from him, so the only possibility, at least at that particular time that made any sense, was that they simply went to that place ahead, but by another route other than the bridge. Though, from what he could see, either said route was on the other side of the building, or, to both of their confusion, there wasn't one.

Yet if that were truly the case, why would they just…

"Whatever the case," Knuckles started, bringing Shadow out of his pondering once again. "I'm not too interested in standing around and talking." He then cracked his namesake joints. "What I'm interested in is teaching these guys that you don't just come and pick fights with somebody. Especially when that somebody was having quite a nice morning for a change…" well, that was something he was more than on board with. Besides, even the still present sense of wariness had arisen with the question previously asked, Shadow couldn't deny that Knuckles definitely knew more about this place, let alone this area, far more than he. "Though, I'm curious about one thing." The red echidna asked. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Again, at first, Shadow resigned not to answer. He had an answer, yes, but whether or not it would've been accepted was the question. "I don't know." Ultimately though, he decided that whether it was or not, it didn't matter to him. Besides, that wasn't what he had on his mind at the moment. "I don't even know how I got here. But, I suppose you could say I have business with those creatures myself." he continued, eyes looking straight ahead at his now determined destination. "They've stolen from me."

 **Space Colony Ark**

Stolen…that was what he had told him. The question of what was stolen followed; it in turn followed by him relaying that he had been gathering the Chaos Emeralds. This didn't exactly present Shadow in a favorable light to Knuckles, specifically in regards as this little bit of information garnered the echidna to question why he was doing so in the first place.

Whether he believed him or not didn't matter to him in the slightest. Besides, what reason did he even have to lie to him? Declaration against those black creatures was more than enough.

'Unlike before. You lied…you lied the entire way through…the Biohaz-'

Ultimately though, despite the sideways glances and clear evidence that he wasn't satisfied with what Shadow had given him, Knuckles saw little reason to protest against their momentary partnership, as both had become more than aware that the ancient temple had become swarmed with the dark skinned invaders.

From what Knuckles had told him, at least in the brief periods between short lived, yet adrenaline and anger fueled skirmishes, the area was called Glyphic Canyon, the former part of its name mainly coming from the seemingly ancient and off ways structure situated above it. And ancient it was, the guardian of Angel Island speaking of how for as long as he could remember, he would sometimes see it in passing from above, remaining unchanged and untouched for years. Though, given its unknown age, or at least unknown until more recently, it had definitely been around for far longer.

'Possibly even around as long as Mystic Ruins, give or take a few years.' He remembered him saying. Where that was, he was unsure, yet that name…he had heard it somewhere before.

'From what I've read here, those things, 'Artificial Chaos' I think, are based on an ancient god that the tribes once worshiped…'

Shadow, even as he kept up his trekking through the seemingly abandoned halls, he couldn't help but wonder: had he known then what he knew now…or at least, had just heard, putting off even acknowledging it as fact until a for sure confirmation had been stated, would he maybe have been prepared for what had come?

Would he have actually caused what occurred to not be, if he wasn't so caught off guard by it?

'Go on…' even now, those words, that voice…HIS voice, still reverberated through his thoughts, cutting through each and every single other pondering that came to try and block it out.

Just as it had been before, it seemed that the voice was the only thing that existed, and, to Shadow's disquiet, the only thing that mattered.

 **Glyphic Canyon**

Their entrance into the main grounds of the temple wasn't exactly as stealthy one, Knuckles wasting no time in immediately charging the first creature he could get his hands on. The group (or at least one of many) of Black Arms split into two, one half rushed on ahead, to a small, enclosed unit ahead while the other stayed behind to combat the two smaller animals. And frankly, regarding Knuckles' own treatment of the foul things, Shadow had no reservations against that. In fact, he began to do the same when more had come to assist their comrade.

'A fine use for that 'Chaos Blast' that thief mentioned…' the darkly colored hedgehog thought. When he got those Emeralds back…oh, even more when he FOUND that pilfering, six-legged abomination!

He dare not say it aloud, yet he was at least grateful the echidna was more focused on pummeling these guys than delving into the hows and whys of what Shadow had been doing the past few hours. Even if, eventually, it was going to be known. Not from any of those officers he had unleashed that wave of energy upon, yet from him…if he was still even…no. No, he wasn't. He couldn't be.

'You never cease to surprise me, hedgehog. I thought you exploded in that capsule in space.'

Where that came from, Shadow had no idea. Yet still, that blue loudmouth was, whether he liked or not at times, far harder to get rid of than that. Sonic had to have either run from the blast, he certainly being more than capable enough (though he'd dare not admit it aloud), or maybe he was only sent flying back.

'Hurry! Get the Chaos Emeralds!'

It was only because he reacted in the half-second before that Shadow managed to narrowly avoid the black creature's fist, the coarse, pebbled skin just barely making contact with his unscathed cheek. This was met with the smaller hedgehog jerking to the side and maneuvering to where he was positioned right behind the larger extraterrestrial. Larger, thankfully, almost always never meant smarter, as the moment it looked back at its opponent, its face (despite a pair of eyes being the only features Shadow could distinguish) receiving the full force of the thrusters situated on the hedgehog's shoes.

It momentarily recoiled from the burning sensation that began to assault its nerves, clawed hands holding its round, smaller head in pain. Then, as it tried to once again go on the offensive, albeit halfway as one hand clasped over its face while the other swung in his direction, Shadow in turn rushed up to one of the many pillars situated around and kicked off of it, intending to leap up and perform a homing attack right on the hideous thing's forehead.

At least, he would've, had not another creature been literally thrown atop of it, sending both of them to the ground, the head of the one tossed obviously heavily damaged by some sort of spiked instrument, maybe four, situated on a pair of gloves.

"I was just about to finish that one off myself." Shadow said, irritable that, granted, it wasn't what he was truly after, yet still, for now, taking on this cretins would have to suffice before he had found Black Doom, wherever that dirty little scourge was hiding.

"I don't let Sonic get a head start of me, so neither will you." Knuckles proclaimed proudly, dusting off his gloves and surveying the scene of battered, unmoving forms around them. "You had this half over here already." He gestured to the left. "Fifteen, I think. Those two that I just dealt with brought me to that too. So now, we're even."

True, he expected such a reaction from Shadow (he himself probably would've done the same thing), yet as the both of them were free from having to defend themselves from all directions, they began to take note of something that, to this point, had gone all but unnoticed.

It wasn't here, at least not in the open where they currently stood, but rather, it seemed to emit from further ahead. From inside of the enclosed unit ahead, cubic in shape and bearing a heavy coating of moss. Fitting to a degree, as what caught their eyes had been an intense, powerful light, particularly that of a vibrant green. At first believing it to be one of the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow practically leapt forward into the smaller space, yet both to his surprise and subsequent disappointment, what awaited him inside was not one of the precious stones taken from him.

Situated on the aged, patterned floor and enclosed by twin stairways leading upward, a perfectly spherical object was seen, seemingly floating above a small platform originally holding it, given the indentation carved into said platform. The sphere, despite the powerful, green light it emitted, its surface appeared to be black in color, possibly made from obsidian or some material unknown. Shadow, as well as Knuckles (who had entered not long afterward) couldn't exactly tell, let alone what they were even looking at to begin with. The light seeped through several carvings made into the surface of the sphere, angular and precise, very little in the way of curves and circular designs.

"Well…" Knuckles began, moving closer towards the strange object. "This is new."

"Clearly." Shadow agreed. He couldn't say for sure (given there were no other sources to go by), yet, he supposed, if this place had been here for as long as Knuckles was aware, then how would something like this even be present? For such an old, aged place as this, this sphere, whatever it was, appeared to be at least more advanced than everything else around it.

"Not exactly something I'd expect, 'treasure-wise'…" the echidna observed, looking over and studying the floating, glowing sphere. "But seeing as why I came here in the first place…" yet as soon as he reached out to try and touch the sphere, as if the reaction was from the sphere itself, the green light seemed to react. An electric discharge of some kind seemed to come from the sphere, Knuckles immediately reacting to the sudden rush of stinging pain and removing his hand from the glowing object.

Both of them took a step back from the glowing, floating sphere at this point, of which seemed to return to its relatively still, unmoving state.

"Course," Knuckles growled, still holding his hand and attempting to massage away the pain. "That's not exactly something I'd expect, 'booby-trap-wise'."

 **Space Colony Ark**

And of course for himself, that wasn't something he expected, period. The sphere's reaction to Knuckles' touch was more than puzzling to both of them at the time, let alone what it even was and what it was even for. Regardless, for the most part, they were at least aware that whatever they were, they definitely weren't suitable for touching in any way.

Oh, had Shadow known then what he knew now…

Yet as their trek through the temple went on (a little detour courtesy of a twister notwithstanding), more and more of those creatures were seen, they apparently having no intention of leaving anytime soon. Yet as they went on further ahead, it came to be discovered that there was far more than just one of those spheres stationed around. In fact, if Shadow wished to be technical, there were at least five or so, such a thing not exactly his focus at the time. Though, perhaps it should've been. Perhaps he should've noted that the creatures either being in close proximity or almost running towards the spheres meant something, that somehow, the two of them were linked in some way. An unknown way, yes, but still, there was a clear, distinct pattern of behavior between them and these glowing spheres. In fact, looking back on it, Shadow could've sworn that it was like they were seeking them out. As if the entire reason they had gone to that temple was because of those spheres.

He wouldn't say that this was cause to declare that the Black Arms had intelligence per say, behaving more like the most basic and primitive of instinct driven animals (a good portion of that judgment based on his own observations, but spite was definitely a strong influence), yet with that said, it was clear that they held at least more knowledge about the site in Glyphic Canyon along with its contents than either he or Knuckles did.

Far more than Shadow could've possibly imagined.

 **Glyphic Canyon**

Something was odd about it the moment both he and Knuckles laid eyes upon it. Not due to what was before them, it simply yet another sphere; yet unlike the others, there were a small number of key differences.

First of all, unlike the others before them, this one seemed to not have a small hoard of those creatures standing guard or even rushing towards it, they apparently having never gotten this far thanks to the hedgehog's and echidna's intervention. Indeed, past what he had assumed to be the fourth of these that they had passed, Shadow came to see that the activity in this portion of the temple was little to none.

Second was the sphere's overall location. From when they had started to where they were now, both of them had witnessed that for the most part, these strange objects had always been kept in enclosed, and for the most part, secure environments where they would be protected from above, assuming that weather was some sort of factor regarding how these objects functioned. At least, that had been the assumption before coming upon this one. It still held a handful of similar features, an indented platform, a stairway nearby (in this case, leading up to it), yet here it was, out in the open and definitely unlike the others of its ilk, elevated high above all the others, as if its placing was meant to signify something. As if it were pointing upward, right to the heavens.

Though both of those differences weren't what immediately drew the two of them to the object. In fact, neither of those things had. Granted, they were definitely elements they took notice of, but those weren't the first things that caught their eyes, what ignited some sense of unease sub-consciously shared between the two. It was both perplexing, yet to an extent, humorously ironic, as the one element that drew them was that it was completely and utterly unremarkable.

Unremarkable in the sense that, unlike its other round kin littered around the ancient premises, this was appeared to be little more than a round, black rock resting atop of a far more decorative platform. Yes, resting, as this was had not been floating in the air, nor had it been emitting a strong, green light from the inside, highlighting the several carvings etched into the surface.

Very odd, Shadow admitted, though ultimately, these things were far from his concern, let alone something he held any interest in. He had come seeking a far different 'prizes' and to his growing frustration, said prizes had yet to show themselves, let alone the one that had looted him in the first place. He could even see where a bridge leading to the other side of the canyon had begun to stretch out! He and Knuckles had gone through nearly the entire structure and still, no sign of Black Doom! Yet he had to be here, somewhere. Even if he just had Westopolis to go by, wherever those bipedal, far less vocal creatures appeared and began to swarm, he was almost always somewhere close.

'If I had gone all this way for nothing…' the streaked hedgehog inwardly growled, though a turn of the head, mainly to survey the surrounding area yet again for any sign of the six-limbed eye or whatever it was, he had caught Knuckles, surprisingly enough, once again placing his hand on the black sphere. "What are you doing?" indeed, wasn't the first attempt he did enough of a determant?

"It's fine." Knuckles responded, his tone indicating that he wasn't in need (nor did he want) any sort of lecture. "I know what I'm doing." The gloved hand ran across the textured surface of the assumedly ancient device, a slight chill seeping through the ivory fabric (though now somewhat stained with green).

As Shadow observed Knuckles continuing his 'study' of the sphere, it seemed that the former theory that had developed was rendered null and void. A touch wasn't enough to simply invoke it to suddenly start glowing and rise. Yet if that was the case, what could've possible caused the others to go into such a state?

Knuckles began feeling along the indentations of the object, thinking that perhaps one had to touch in specific places in order to allow it to achieve the same look as the others, yet this little bout of exploring was short lived, the echidna immediately taking his hands off of the sphere.

"That was quick." Shadow remarked, yet upon noticing the realization that came to his company's features, he too understood, quickly losing interest in the sphere entirely.

Or…at least, at first, he did.

"You notice how those creatures seemed to be going after these things? Like they want to find them?"

Yes, he figured that out already, yet that wasn't what Shadow was finding strange. No, strange wasn't good enough. This…this was something that he wasn't even sure existed until now. Yet what was it exactly?

"I think that they came here for them."

His fingers, for reasons he couldn't understand, began twitching, this strange movement, this force of unknown origin steadily creeping up from his digits to his hand, then to his arm. It had continued on further, yes, yet its main focus appeared to be on his arm, it growing uncomfortably stiff and numb, as if the limb had just fallen asleep on its own conduct. And if this wasn't bad enough, this numbing sensation seemed to also begin affecting his neck, the hedgehog finding his head turning against his will to where his large, red eyes held the black, inactive sphere in their sights.

"What for, I don't know." Knuckles continued, his attention also centered on the sphere, yet completely oblivious to the slowly approaching Shadow. "But if they're so ready and willing to put their lives on the line to protect them, they must have some sort of significant value."

What in the world was going on? Despite all his efforts to stay back, to try and stop himself, Shadow found his feet guiding him forward, closer and closer to the lightless, dormant object. The suddenness of his limbs seemingly being overtaken gave him little in the means of preparation, thus rendering him near helpless to the wave of fascination that also arrived with the general numbness.

'I…' Shadow emitted a low growl, both rows of teeth biting down on the other. 'I want to…' what in the world was happening?! He wasn't thinking this, was he? He didn't want this, so why was it occurring?! Why did he suddenly want to draw even closer to the sphere? 'Want to…touch it?'

'Yes.' Even with the general lack of feeling plaguing his arm and neck, as well as his legs moving without his input, he couldn't stop the cold chill that inched its way up his spine when he heard a voice echo through his thoughts. 'You do. So go on.'

That voice…yes, even with the sudden, overwhelming urge to go towards the sphere, his arm extending outward as he steadily continued on, Shadow still held enough of his own awareness to recognize that echoing, urging voice.

'Go on…' it continued. 'Touch it…'

Knuckles shrugged. "Well, might as well get rid of it now than wait for them to…" the crimson hairs on the back of his neck began to rise, small, hidden traces of gooseflesh beginning to come to his skin. Whirling around, he came face to face with a rather wide-eyed, and dare he say, somewhat off-putting Shadow staring dead at him. "Shadow?"

'Touch it…'

"Shadow, what are you-" the echidna didn't get to say much more as he soon found himself roughly shoved to the ground, the black hedgehog now the one hovering over and studying the inactive sphere.

Now, even if it wasn't apparent to the guardian getting back on his feet, Shadow's struggling had near reached its peak, his body remaining still and calm, yet in the layers of his mind, it felt almost like a war zone! The black hedgehog was fighting, clawing, pounding and writhing with all he had to break free from this force that had seemingly overcome almost all of his senses! Yet even that was not without its setbacks, as, to his horror, almost any amount of resistance or grab for control resulted in an intense wave of hot, burning heat, said heat sent coursing throughout his entire form and immediately resulting in him having to step back for a moment due to the unexpected pain. He couldn't even turn his head to see the source of it all, the source of the voice echoing through his head!

'Touch it…'

He was here, he knew it! Somewhere, around here, close nearby! With his Chaos Emeralds…but where?!

'Let it rise…'

"Shadow, stop!"

The sensation of rough stone meeting the skin of his muzzle, as well as the rather rough tackle from the side, courtesy of the echidna, managed to bring Shadow back to feeling his nerves working again, yet by the time Knuckles had done the act, it was already too late.

It was fitting that both of them were sent to the ground, as the sudden, onset tremor that suddenly shook through the entire temple would've been enough to send both of them tumbling over each other. The sphere, once dull and black, had become a splitting image of its four other kin, the markings and etched patterns exerting a bright, green glow that, as if sensing its siblings had been activated as well, seemed to grow brighter and brighter until both Shadow and Knuckles could no longer bear the intensity, shutting their eyes.

The shaking continued on and on, the echoes of rock crumbling and portions of the structure coming apart resonated throughout the entire canyon, the echidna and hedgehog both startled and frustrated that not only had their sense of sight been compromised, but now their sense of hearing was about to be rendered non-existent! Even more, it wouldn't be much longer until the temple itself would be sent collapsing down into the chasm below! The shaking made it near impossible to gain any sort of footing, but they both knew they had no other choice! They had to get out of here, now!

Yet just as it seemed it would go on until Shadow and Knuckles would find that their chance of escape had come all but a moment too late, the trembling stopped. All vibrations, all noises of ancient stones crumbling and breaking apart, all of it in but a single moment stopped.

It had all stopped, both of them able to get to their feet again, and yet…something was still amiss. And upon both of them rising, they had seen that they couldn't have been more correct.

Gone was the sight of the canyon the temple stood over, as well as the surrounding forests. In fact, everything save for blue sky was gone! It was only when Shadow and Knuckles peered over the edge did they realize the reason why.

Their worries about falling were far from what they should've truly been fretting over, even if such a thing, in retrospect, couldn't have been predicted. The section of the temple they were in, or better yet, on, had been rising up. It was floating. And it wasn't just that particular area. Looking behind them, other sections of the temple had come to steadily float upwards as well, ascending higher and higher into the clouds above, and judging from the chill of the high altitude, they two would be doing so if they didn't make a break for it.

Wasting no time, Knuckles turned to the black hedgehog. "Hang onto me! Hurry!"

Indeed, without Chaos Control, it wasn't as if Shadow could simply teleport themselves out of here. Plus, Ultimate Lifeform or not (why he found himself so familiar with that title, he didn't know), he wasn't willing to risk breaking his legs on the drop down.

Wrapping his arms around the echidna's neck, his own ego of how silly it might've looked notwithstanding, Knuckles rushed forward, leaping off of the rising platform of stone still rising up and thrust his arms forward, their descent, while not entirely halted, had definitely been reduced to a far slower pace. It would be a close call, yet hopefully they would have reached enough of a height to make a smooth landing. The echidna continued to glide with the hedgehog holding on around his neck, continuing on further and further, inching closer and closer until…

"OOF!"

Well, it wasn't exactly a 'smooth' landing, but still, a landing nonetheless. Compact ground, the long, wild blades of healthy grass blanketing the soil underneath their bodies…it was odd how such things as what had occurred before made one appreciate the simple fact of being on a solid surface once again.

Of course, it's also in those moments that one can have time to contemplate and reflect on what they had just escaped from, or in Shadow's case, try to even work out had just happened at all. Though even that task was interrupted, a harsh yank upwards bringing him face to face with a rather disgruntled and rage filled echidna.

"All right," Knuckles began, his violet eyes furrowing deeply. "You had better start talking."

Shadow was about to retort with a question as to what he was even referring to, along with him promptly giving him a good toss over his shoulder for such a rude gesture. Yet he never got the chance to even get to the first part as Knuckles began speaking once again.

"What in the world was that?!" he roared. "Why did you do that?!"

"Get off!" Shadow managed to roar back, not exactly tossing his aggressor over his shoulder like he had planned, but a kick aiming for his abdomen sufficed just as well. Knuckles dodged the blow and jumped back, releasing his grip on Shadow, yet he was making it clear that he was far from done with him. "Don't make this sound like it was my fault!"

"It IS your fault!" Knuckles argued. "I told you NOT to touch it, and you go on and do it anyway! And now look!" he gestured to the now empty canyon.

"It's not as if I knew what touching those stones would do!" the streaked hedgehog defended, yet at the same time, what the voice had said echoed in his mind.

'Let it rise…'

"So why'd you do it?" the guardian questioned, folding his arms. "Even with all we've seen in there with those stones and those creatures seemingly going after them. Why did you just suddenly think it was a good idea to just go on up and touch one? Better yet…" he questioned, one red brow raising. "How come it reacted when you touched it, but with me, it did nothing?"

Was he…was he implying something?! "You dare….!?" Shadow began, wishing to give his aggressor now turned potential accuser a clear and distinct picture of what was he was planning to do to rectify such an offense! How could he even think that he…that he would intentionally…

'Touch it…'

"I…" Shadow found himself, startlingly unable to form a proper defense for himself. "I didn't intend for that to occur."

Knuckles still seemed unmoved. His acceptance of his words mattered not to him at the moment. He could believe whatever he liked. No, what truly disturbed Shadow, oddly enough, were Knuckles observations, as well as why he was so compelled, even outright riddled with pain if he didn't obey the deep, guttural voice that had previously been heard by him, and even more startling, only him.

"So why'd you do it?"

'Touch it…'

"I had no idea that would happen."

'Let it rise…'

"That's not what I asked. I asked why you did it at all."

"I know well what you said. I'm not deaf."

'Touch it…'

"I'm beginning to think you are because you haven't answered me yet!"

The two of them simply stood there, staring each other down, neither one of them wishing to back down from the other. To do such would be a display of weakness, and they'd both probably allow the world burn before either one of them would back down willingly. So still, for minutes on end, they stood in silence, watching and waiting for the other to make some sort of move to counter.

Of course, with that said, "Excellent work, Shadow…" it gave way for unexpected elements to garner quite the startling entrance.

Whirling around, both echidna and hedgehog came to see…nothing. Nothing could be seen, but there was no mistaking it. Someone had spoken, they were sure of that, but from Knuckles was seeing, Shadow was apparently far more acquainted with this mystery figure, whomever he was.

"Who was that?" he questioned, though Shadow didn't respond, his focus not even on the red echidna. He simply looked in the direction the voice had come from…as if contemplating something. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Who was that?! What did he mean by-"

Unfortunately for him, Knuckles never got the chance to finish. His words were falling on deaf ears as it was, and soon, the body said ears were attached to had become enveloped in a blur of pure black, contrasting with the greenery surrounding him.

"Oh no, don't you run away from me!" the echidna hollered, his fur color contemplating the fire in his eyes. "GET BACK HERE!" and with that thundering cry, he too made a mad dash forward, the blur of black steadily growing more and more distant, yet that was far from a determent for him. It hadn't ever been with Sonic anyway.

 **Space Colony Ark**

Ultimately though, the sound of his demands to come back and face him died down, and by the time he had long gotten out of the area, Shadow was certain that even he caught up if by some miracle (or severe underestimation of the echidna's tenacity), it wouldn't take too long to lose him again.

It wasn't as if he was afraid of Knuckles, goodness no, but he was far from his top priority at the time. There was no mistaking it: that was Black Doom he had just heard, and even now, though he didn't see it, he was certain that somewhere around that temple, he had been keening watching and observing him. Perhaps even when he was put there and rendered unconscious…and in a perfect position to be robbed of HIS Emeralds.

Though his pursuit of Doom and the issue of the stolen jewels were far from the only things that drove him forward.

'Touch it…'

The fact that suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, he was compelled, if not outright forced to touch the inactive sphere for no clear reason aside from the alien's command, it only added another element to this entire thing that Shadow, to his frustration, couldn't have prepared for. And so, the moment he had heard the low, guttural voice bear him congratulations, as if to intentionally make the already angered Knuckles' suspicions rise further, the black hedgehog was even more determined and hungry to give that evasive thief a piece of his mind.

It wasn't as if he were running to simply not deal with what had just occurred, let alone allow the realizations of how he had just momentarily lost control over himself. No, not at all. Besides, when he found him and dealt with him appropriately, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He had no sure direction to go in, let alone any idea of where Doom could've even gone; yet he still didn't run because he wanted to avoid any of that. No, not at all. He feared nothing. The Ultimate couldn't be afraid, shouldn't be afraid.

Eventually, Shadow had come across a large, aged castle, fittingly named 'Cryptic Castle'. He took a moment to rest then, as frankly, his search for the floating eye was going absolutely nowhere. Though Shadow remembered, when he had come across the castle, there was as slew of images that came to him in that moment.

'That place…' he pondered. 'The pumpkins…' true, aside from Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion, he hadn't been anywhere else that held giant, floating pumpkins all around, yet still, the imagery struck a cord with him. He hadn't been there, but someone he knew had. A hill in particular…known for its pumpkins? A Pumpkin Hill?

And Eggman…he came to him as well, the scientist's face flashing in his mind for a brief moment. It took some debilitation on his part, he still far from wishing, let alone willing to outright give up on his search for Doom. Yet regardless, at the time, he was the best lead that he had. And besides, if things happened to go sour, the stout human wouldn't be much of a problem to deal with once whatever giant mechanized terror he'd possibly unleash was promptly destroyed.

He had counted on that…yet he hadn't counted on encountering 'her'.

The young, pink girl that held some sort of powerful infatuation with the blue pest, garbed in that red dress and wielding that overly massive hammer of hers. Odd, that upon seeing her, he had been able to register not only a familiarity with her, yet something else as well.

What she was doing there in the first place, Shadow held no idea, even now. Yet still, all the same, she seemed relatively pleased and relieved to see him. From what he could gather, she hadn't come alone either. The small rabbit that he had seen with her aboard the Egg Fleet, Cream, had apparently gotten lost in the depths of the large, towering palace, and while Amy assured him that she was in no way afraid, having him as company would certainly improve chances of finding her quicker.

The small episode there was something that Shadow pondered over, especially given that, if anything, it did little to benefit him. He had made it clear that his business was urgent and couldn't wait, as well as questioning why in the world she even thought it was a good idea to bring as small, assumedly easily frightened child to a place called 'Cryptic Castle'. Her response was quite defensive, he not realizing what a little spitfire she was, and while the news that Eggman's robots were also in the area caught his attention, he found that his main reason for staying there wasn't due to that.

'Shadow! I beg you!'

Yes, he wouldn't lie in saying that was something of a motivator to stay, yet the sight of her asking, pleading for his assistance. His help…why had that struck something in him?

'I beg you…' he mentally repeated.

Amy hadn't used that phrase when asking him to help her find Cream (and subsequently, Cheese), yet to hear it come from her, to finally be able to put a face to one of the voices continually resurfacing and vaguely hinting at something buried…granted, it was just one of many, yet still, it was one that he had been hearing quite often throughout this ordeal.

'She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. She was about to cry, and she was afraid.' Afraid, that was another clear emotion in her voice. Though, of who or what? And why beg him? 'Did I…do something to make her sound like that?'

Shadow, honestly, had no real reason to stay there. True, Eggman WAS present in the Castle, attempting to do something involving the torches littered around the place, both he and Amy able to relate said torches to the ones placed in Mystic Mansion, but he could've just gone after him. He had no reason, let alone any benefits he would've received for helping the young girl find her friend or her pet. He knew that well, and had wondered if even agreeing to the task was wise at all (especially given the room filled with identical looking Chao they later found). Still, even as his logic wrestled with his conscience (albeit, an admittedly subdued one), the small, pleading voice, her voice, begging something important of him ultimately won out.

Whether out of some strange sense of obligation to her, or perhaps even guilt, he stayed and helped reunited the three, even making sure that they had left the Castle right away. It was far from any place for them to have been in the first place.

'Besides,' he thought. 'She was being foolish. Running around like that with all those robots around…if she had gotten herself hurt-' Shadow shut the thought out before it could finish, outright denying the fact that he was concerned over Amy's safety. It was just easier for him to look around given his superior speed that was all! Besides, he also held superior strength as well, those Eggman robots holding nothing to him! She still was a fool to go in there alone, yet at least she was a live fool. Though this too remained something Shadow dared not dwell on, if not just out of some sense of image he held.

After that, Shadow was wishing to resume his search once again, yet the only trace of the actual doctor being some strange, floating device projecting his image, his actual location still a mystery. Though from what Amy had told him, at least from the small bit of knowledge she managed to get from Sonic (Shadow also not admitting his relief that the blue speedster was all right), Eggman was reportedly doing some sort of work in one of his bases. A place called, fittingly enough, the Iron Jungle. With that bit of information, he once again set off.

And while his intent to find that six-limbed anomaly had yet to be abandoned, perhaps, given what had occurred soon after the excursion through Cryptic Castle, maybe searching for him wouldn't have done him much good, just as even now, there was no sign of him. Though, if what had happened next was any indication, maybe all it took was simply waiting. For as much as Shadow didn't wish to go through with the potential option, from what he observed, Black Doom seemed to have a strangely peculiar way of knowing where he was. Even more, to his chagrin, he seemed to also have an evident love of the element of surprise.

 **In a Large, Forested Area**

Iron Jungle…well, from what he could see, there was not one trace of anything 'iron', let alone metallic. Shadow wasn't exactly perturbed by such a thing, given that if the Doctor was indeed here, he'd at least have some margin of intelligence to not place one of his hideouts out in the open for all to see. Yet after some time of seeing nothing but the natural, green, organic flora on all sides, the black (and subsequently over-heated) hedgehog found his patience beginning to wear thin.

Though the growing annoyance of being unable to find any sign of the scientist through the dense thicket was a better comparison to yet another 'jog' that assaulted him. It seemed that almost EVERYTHING that he saw brought something out now. Some voice, some image out of place and time, yet here…he found that it was one of the few times he could attach an actual scenario to. A scene that had taken place that made some semblance of sense.

Though that in itself brought several other questions. One in particular being why Shadow was attaching the words 'White Jungle' instead of the (severely lacking) 'Iron Jungle'. Even more, the sense that in those fragmented pieces he could actually somewhat string together, his situation wasn't much different. Then and now, whenever the former had taken place, he was looking for something. No, someone. Someone that was…in trouble? Someone he knew, even now, the form of a white furred, large eared, and winged coming to mind. Rouge?

'I finally found you, you fake hedgehog!' though that definitely wasn't her voice.

'Fake?' and…that was his own? 'You compare yourself to me? You're not worthy to be my fake!'

Fake…an argument between him and the blue pest, Sonic, about the other being some sort of 'fake'. Something of which he, from what he could piece together, took quite an offense to. Heck, even now, Shadow could feel a rising bit of anger at the word. Fake…even if he had little clue as to what the context of that particular bit of memory was, he was more than aware that the word was an insult.

'I'm far from any 'fake'.' He thought. 'If you meant a copy of you, then that'd actually be even more insulting. Especially given its obvious who the better of the two clearly is.'

"Really now?"

Shadow stopped. It wasn't spoken, his ears unable to hear it echo throughout the dense collection of thick, green wilderness, yet there was no mistaking it. Before he could react, let alone command the multi-limbed thing to emerge from whatever hiding spot it had taken to assumedly spy on him, the hedgehog's red eyes saw the creature emerge from a collection of tropical plants just a few feet away.

'Poor choice for a hiding spot.' Shadow was about to declare, though found no need; it'd simply be stating the obvious.

"Perhaps." Though he found, to his shock, that it wouldn't have mattered anyway. "If it had been my intention to hide." Had he heard that? "I've been looking for you. Quite rude to simply run off."

To his shame, it took Shadow a few moments to actually gather words to say, still caught up on the fact that the eye had given a response to not something he said, yet thought. If he could do that, then…then what happened at the temple, was that…

No. No way. He wouldn't tread there. He refused to. He refused to show any semblance of vulnerability to this creature or give anything that could result in it a second thought, the bipedal hedgehog reigning himself back into the hardened, unwavering image that was Shadow.

"So what took you so long?" and to prove that such things were not concerning to him, that they didn't invoke any sort of fear, Shadow answered the creature with a few questions. "Last time, you couldn't seem to leave me alone, but now, it's been nearly an entire day since I've last seen you. Not that I was particularly eager to."

"You would've gone right off." Doom answered. "Besides, with how your reaction was when the temple rose, it would've only been reasonable to assume that you'd be quite shaken. Especially given the already susceptible state you were in when we first met."

'I knew it.' Shadow growled to himself, following the thought soon afterward before the floating eye could give his input. "What happened there? Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about, because I KNOW you know!"

"What I know?" Doom questioned, though his tone was far less of genuine surprise and that of an exaggerated version of it. "Why, yes. I do know. In fact, I know much. That's why you agreed to gather the Chaos Emeralds for me, is it not?"

"That's not going to happen. Not now." Shadow hissed. "I made that clear already." And to emphasize his point, he drew closer to the floating eye, his own staring daggers into the single, reddened iris. "What IS going to happen is that YOU are going to relay every little thing that you've intentionally been keeping from me. Starting with what you meant regarding this 'Professor' and these so called 'things' he's done to my memory."

"Mmm, yes. He has DONE quite a good deal." Doom cooed, Shadow drawing back when one tentacle slithered out to touch his shoulder. "It's quite a pity that he undid so much of his own work." He far from cared for the hedgehog moving away from his touch, displaying this by refusing to remove the tentacle from its place. Having believed it would be going for his shoulder again, Shadow jerked to the left, only to find the sensation of the pebbled, slithering appendage on his cheek, the graze having since gone and leaving not trace of itself. "Yet such things will come in time."

"No, they're coming NOW!" Shadow retorted, grabbing the tentacle and forcibly removing it from the side of his tanned muzzle. "And you can start by returning those two Emeralds to me!"

The six-limbed extension of Doom was silent for a few moments, the single optic gazing back and conveying a look of bewilderment. "Emeralds? Are you referring to the ones that you delivered to me?"

Delivered to him…deliver to him, deliver to-

"I was going to give you what you sought when those two were collected, yet you didn't give me the chance, nor the time to do so." Doom began again, seeming to not even mind, let alone care that Shadow was practically seething with anger. "Not to mention the horrid behavior you displayed." The Eye shook itself from side to side, as if he were expressing disappointment in him. "And here I had come all this way to reward you for your efforts in awakening the temple, even with you and that red simpleton going around attacking my children. But seeing that your behavior has far from improved in the slightest, I'm considering leaving you with nothing."

He…he dared to…if the gall to claim he 'delivered' those two Emeralds to him wasn't enough, he then dared to try and play him like this?! That was the final straw, Chaos Emeralds or not, he was going to do irreparable damage to this conniving little creature! Shadow lunged forward, intending to take the Eye by one of its many limbs, yet he was robbed of even that! Just mere moments, mere inches from grabbing ahold of it, Shadow's eyes were met with a flash of red and his gloved hand left grabbing at nothing but air.

"Valiant attempt." The deep, guttural voice chuckled from behind him. "But it seems your confinement in that capsule has made your reflexes a little rusty."

The black hedgehog was very near about to lunge for him again, and indeed, it was more than a little tempting. Still though, he sensed something off. He was more than capable of going by his word and leaving him, so why wasn't he doing so? Doom was baiting him, attempting to get him to do something reckless. Well, unfortunately for him, Shadow wasn't so easily swayed into such things-

"Perhaps I should pay the Professor's descendent a little visit. He IS supposed to be nearby, isn't he?"

What?! No, no, Shadow told himself. Don't take it. Don't go for the bait. "Yes, but I doubt you know exactly where. You'd simply be running blind in all of this." He gestured to the thick, fertile foliage on all sides of them.

The Eye 'nodded', though the gleam in its single optic made clear that Shadow's observation was far from a determent. "True, yet you're failing to account for one thing."

"And that would be?"

"Well, surely from your observations, you'd understand. If I'm here, well, I can't simply let my children go off on their own." The hedgehog's eyes widened, realizing that indeed, from what he had seen, wherever the Eye seemed to be, those larger, bipedal grunts of his were almost always nearby. "Maybe they're scouring the jungle for any telltale signs of the Doctor's presence. They DO oh so love to please me, like good little children should."

Good little children…Shadow didn't dare allow it to show, yet the alien's words managed to bring quite the uncomfortable chill, said chill in turn methodically, slowly, easing its way up his spine. Why he had such a reaction, he knew not, yet it seemed that his initial plan to simply reclaim what was stolen from him would have to wait.

"And maybe they already have. Maybe they've just alerted me of his location." Doom sneered, the floating Eye beginning to steadily inch back further and further away into the brush. "And if indeed, I have those two Emeralds that you 'delivered' to me, why, it should take no time in going there myself."

"You're bluffing."

"Maybe, maybe not. But since you don't want to cooperate with me anymore, what does it matter to you if something should happen to the Doctor? After all, it's not like he has anything of worth to easing your inability to remember anything before your second awakening."

Second awakening? Second?! Unfortunately for Shadow, no demand or even simple question as to what he knew came out in time, Doom's Eye, as if sensing his growing trepidation (despite his efforts to conceal it), dashed off into the jungle's flora, Shadow in turn wasting no time in doing the same.

Here he was, doing exactly what he told himself he wasn't going to do. There was more to this, Shadow thought. What exactly, he didn't know, and from what he did know, or could at least theorize, that lead into territory he wasn't exactly eager to tread into. Not because he was afraid. No, absolutely not. He…he wasn't afraid of anything. Especially Doom or any one of those weakling Arms of his!

How long he had gone through the thicket, he didn't know exactly. The floating Eye had gone in the direction he sped off in, he knew that much, yet despite the fact he had yet to find him, Shadow's journey was cut short by the sight of a steep cliff drawing closer and closer.

His jet shoes ceased sending out light flares, the dark hedgehog coming to a stop just mere inches from the cliff's edge, beyond it seeming to be even more jungle to go through. Still, Shadow didn't budge, not yet. Perhaps he'd be able to catch sight of something that would point him in the direction of Eggman's location. Some sign that would at least bring him a little closer to finding something that stuck out amongst the ever-present shades of green.

Wait…was that?

It was! Sure, it was a good distance away from where he currently stood, but still, he could see it! A small spot in the dense collection of trees, of where they seemed to have been cleared out! And in the open space, despite the difficulty posed by the other surrounding trees, Shadow could see distinct blotches of silvery grey amongst the green. A walkway or landing area perhaps? Whatever the case, if it was a potential clue to Eggman's whereabouts, it was something he was going to look into-

"Ah, so THAT'S where he's holed up in." no way. No way, no way! "Thank you kindly, Shadow."

"He's mine, you hear-" Shadow began to declare, whirling around to face the Eye, only to be greeted with the familiar sight of a three-digit hand thrusting itself onto his temple, the sensation of all of his senses being lit afire following soon after.

"This is for you."

It wasn't as if he simply accepted it. Oh no, even amidst the overwhelming stimulation plaguing him, everything from the vague patterns and colors his eyes could grasp to the smallest chirps and chittering of the area's natural inhabitants being maximized to levels he didn't think possible, Shadow still fought to not be brought down into the blackness that awaited him. Not now, not yet! Not when he had just potentially found the Doctor's location! He was stronger than this! He was the Ultimate! He had to...be…

Just as quickly as it began, it ended, and for the briefest of moments, Shadow was left with still, encompassing nothingness.

When he had finally found himself awake and aware (though that in itself was up for debate), the stinging sensation of needles nestled in his flesh assaulted his body yet again, along with the encompassing warmth of the heated liquid he was being kept it, oxygen still continually being fed through the mask upon his face. Nothing had changed from before, the location was exactly the same as the first, and from what he could make out, his senses in this strange yet familiar environment had yet to improve either. Everything was very subdued and distorted, he barely able to make out any sort of sounds, so what use would there be in opening his eyes-

"Hello."

Wait…that voice. Her voice…

It was a miracle Shadow had managed to get his eyelids to partially move at all, feeling as if their weight rivaled that of lead, and while the image was very distorted and awash in a bright, foggy green, the size and shape of the silhouette alerted him that he had assume correctly. She was here. Maria was here.

"Um," she seemed to be unsure of herself, the darkened shape seeming to have brushed some of her full, wavy hair from her shoulder. "I don't really know if you can even hear me," she gave out a nervous chuckle Shadow cursing the mask placed over his mouth as it did him no favors in allowing him to try and respond. "But I don't see how you can't be bored to death, being cooped up in there. Even if you're probably sleeping most of the time still."

Bored, she believed he was bored? Well, to be honest, bored wasn't exactly what Shadow would've described what he was feeling at the moment. He was still quite angry at having forcibly been sent into this state, this strange re-enactment of something long forgotten against his will and left helpless to do anything as the one who sent him here was doing who knew what to him. Yet now that she was here, at least he assumed it was Maria, Shadow couldn't deny that now, he was more than a little curious. Was this perhaps what Doom meant by a 'second awakening'?

'No, I…I don't think so.' He ultimately declared to himself. 'The way he phrased that, it…it must refer to something else. Something far more important.'

Maria began speaking again. "But, I've been doing some reading here, and it says…" she paused for a moment, she apparently holding something in her hand and flipping through it to find something she was searching for. A book, perhaps? "Ah, here!" she proclaimed. "It says here that plants have been shown to respond well and develop faster with positive attention and reception."

Plants? Shadow didn't know whether to be insulted or amused. So he was viewed as a vegetable in this state?

"Now, don't get me wrong." She began again, clarifying herself. "It's obvious that YOU'RE not a plant or anything like that." Was she actually concerned about possibly insulting him? Even with the knowledge that he perhaps couldn't even hear her? "But I was sort of curious, in that, assuming you CAN hear me at all…" the same uncertainty from before began to seep into her young voice again, she seemingly debating on what she was even doing, having acknowledged how odd it probably would've looked. "Oh well. At least you won't be bored. Maybe."

As the figure of the young girl sat down and flipped to some random page in the book she held, Shadow's dulled, but still present sense of hearing heard some diatribe about the process of photosynthesis, Maria narrating to him the individual steps and what roles elements such as the sun, carbon dioxide, and oxygen played in the process, as well as some tidbit about all food products that contained naturally produced glucose. She was essentially reading him a science book, yet was speaking about it as if it was the most amazing, fascinating thing in the world.

It wasn't boring so much as it was confusing, Shadow having no idea as to why she chose this book of all things to read to him. Granted, it was better than being read some sort of juvenile children's book, yet still, it was somewhat off-putting that an assumedly pre-pubescent girl would find entertainment in reading material like that.

Still, regardless, Shadow found himself somewhat thankful that she was here, doing this for him (or more appropriately, had done this for him at least sometime). The sound of her voice, relaying the process of photosynthesis and how large of a contribution it was in the supply of oxygen to the Earth…the moment he heard her describe that, something else began to 'click'. The Earth…she was reading this because it related to the Earth. Grass, trees, fruit, wild plains and dense jungles…she loved things like that. She…she loved those books.

It was useless, Shadow knew it, yet all the same, in this small memory, this forced dream, the impulse was too great to ignore. The thick, warm liquid he was encased in did nothing to allow for quick movement, and the needles piercing his skin had nearly stopped him thanks to the sudden combination of a stinging burn that came with any movement he tried save for opening his eyes or mouth. Yet still, despite these factors, he tried to reach for the glass imprisoning him, his hand attempting to touch the surface. Would she have noticed at all, she had already seemed to completely forget the fact she was supposed to be reading to 'him' and had become absorbed in the text herself. All the same, he had to try. He needed to get her to look at him, to get her to draw closer.

He had to make sure. He had to match an image, the image of that wide-eyed, blonde haired girl in blue to the voice that was talking to him. If he could link the two, if he could attach this voice to that image, then…then…

It was only when he found himself falling forward did he become aware that the dream had ended, the glass as well as any trace of her ripped away without a moment's notice.

His sense of touch adjusting itself to the 'real' world once again, Shadow came to find that instead of smoothness, his gloved hands felt cracked, worn stone with soft patches of moss growing in between.

'This…this is-'

Peck.

Wait. What was-

Peck. Peck.

He jerked to the side, something sharp having jabbed at his side, and turning his head revealed the culprit. It was undoubtedly one of Black Doom's Arms, yet the hedgehog had yet to see this variety before, its size as well as its appearance greatly contrasting its larger, more 'grounded' kin. It held some striking similarities though, same rough, pebbled skin and red markings, though the main and most noticeable feature about this particular creature was the simple fact that it bore wings. Said wings were quite large in comparison to the rest of it, its main body quite small, Shadow finding himself likening it to ancient pterosaurs. The wings seemed to arch downward in three sections on each wing, ending in a something of a hardened-like part of sorts, the creature seeming to use these to use to prop itself up when the wings weren't in use. It bore four, empty, yellow eyes that lacked any iris or pupil, and despite its appearance being avian, it lacked any discernible beak or any sort of 'mouth' per say.

Though surely it had one, Shadow thought. These creatures had to eat something, and in some way…

It was only then that it hit him. Wings. Wings obviously used to fly. He was on a similar section of the temple he had previously awakened on before. The same that had floated up into the sky…

He immediately got to his feet, his balance not entirely there, yet there was no mistaking it, especially since that from what he could see, the ground he had previously been on was little more than a faraway visual from the height he was currently at. The chill in the air that resonated with his newly awakened form further confirmed that, to his shock, Shadow was indeed where he thought he was. Where he was brought. So, in that case, where was-

"Finally." a hand firmly placed itself on his shoulder, the black hedgehog finding himself in the presence of the three-eyed, horned being himself instead of his one-eyed extension of his consciousness. "You're quite the heavy sleeper."

His first instinct was to try and wrangle out of the alien's hold, yet the sight of powdery, soft clouds below had Shadow abandon this idea, instead trying to shift his weight backwards, against a stone wall that'd serve as stable enough to both keep him from falling and away from Doom's touch.

"Watch yourself now." Doom urged, actually allowing the hedgehog to fall back against one of the temple's walls, he in turn realizing that he was only being allowed this mainly due to the fact that there was literally nowhere for him to go. It wasn't as if he'd actually attempt to climb over the short wall anyway. "I don't think I need to tell you it's a long way down."

If it wasn't for his heart thumping to the point where he clenched his chest in pain, along with the sudden, desperate need to fill his lungs, Shadow would've gladly shared the string of vile, sharp tongued curses that practically begged to be released.

The winged creature fluttered up to Black Doom, the larger extraterrestrial extending his arm outward for it to perch on the overlord's arm, it in turn using its prehensile tail to wrap around the arm to better keep itself upward. It lowered its head, its glazed over, emotionless eyes meeting Doom's own. What it was wanting, Shadow didn't know, yet apparently Doom saw fit to deliver as one clawed hand gently stroked the avian-like creature on the head. It was certainly receptive of the attention; its four eyes closing and a low, guttural chitter of sorts emitting from its throat.

"Make no mistake, Shadow." The hedgehog's ears perked, the horned creature directing his attention to him, as well as the avian creature he was previously giving affection to. "You're actions and behavior before were inexcusable." Well, it was certainly obvious that he was still bitter. That was fine with him; Shadow thought The feeling was mutual. "However," Doom began again, staring outward at the open, endless sky. "Given the circumstances, perhaps more patience with you is required. After all…"

What was he even looking at? From what Shadow could see, there was only one…wait. Something was emerging from the clouds. Yes, from below, he began to see it rise. Slowly, yet surely, it had come into view, the rest of the temple that had somehow levitated off of the ground thanks to the power of those stones.

This...this was something he had...

"If not for you, then perhaps none of THIS would've been possible!"

 **Note: A minor note, while she's in the character listing, I don't want to show too much of Maria just yet. She's incredibly important to the story, and to a degree, if I may, from a certain angle, she's the real hero of the story. Those who read the last version may know what I'm hinting at, yet for now, her role in all of this and the reasons Doom later does what he does will become more and more clear. Though that in itself will take awhile. For now, this is mainly to jumpstart the story's beginning and explain why things are the way they are.**

 **I hope I didn't confuse you all, and I hope that you stick with me through this! Please alert me of any errors I missed, and I hope you're enjoying this so far!**


	3. Catalyst of Convergence Part 3

**Note: Part 3 here! Another quick update, while not as quick as the others, as this one needed some stuff at the end, I felt, compared to the version I posted on DeviantArt and Archive. This'll probably be the LAST one that'll be uploaded so quickly, as these things aren't exactly known for being done immediately. At least with my style. Anyhow, here we get to the 'Sky Troops' portion of the 'Truth of Sadness' path, and soon, the prologue's going to be wrapping up and the real story can begin. Thank you all who've reviewed, faved, followed, etc. Thanks again to BlazePyro for putting up with me and my insistence of rewriting, and I hope I please you all with this!**

 **Chapter 3: Catalyst of Convergence Part 3**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

None of this would've been possible…

Shadow didn't need to think twice about what Black Doom meant by that, yet at the same time, ideally, he didn't wish to think of it at all. The pull, almost magnetic drawing to the creature, the urge to give the first Emerald he found to his one-eyed incarnation…frankly, while such things puzzled him, it was only when it seemed almost all his control was temporarily stripped from him did the hedgehog truly grow concerned. Something bizarre was going on. Whether Doom had somehow managed to bewitch him (which even if so, not entirely as he managed to not be taken over entirely) or something else (by blood, he thought, but quickly forced it out of his mind), he knew not.

Yet nevertheless, even if the drive to retrieve back what the black being had stolen from him was at the forefront of his mind, Shadow found the questions as to what, let alone why such things were happening harder and harder to put aside. It was only now, here, in the Ark, that he set out to find the leader of the Black Arms for such a thing.

Though whether he'd willingly give up such information…well, Shadow would deal with that when the time came. Of course, given his tactics when he was up in the airborne ruins that once dwelt above a steep canyon, he expected the task would perhaps involve having to go through a couple of his 'children' to even get to him.

At least, as far as he knew, none that were present here on the space colony were of the flying variety.

 **Glyphic Canyon**

'Take him somewhere far off from here. And make sure that he's contained properly.'

Those were the very words that had Shadow currently flying, though not by his own will.

'I will not risk losing him again.'

Whether or not he truly caught the robed commander of the Black Arms saying such or not, any pondering of it was cut off by the sudden tightening of the long, prehensile tail coiled around his upper body. The airborne, reptilian avian creature that had awakened him from before had now taken to carrying him through the skies to wherever Doom thought it necessary to 'contain' him.

Contain him…well, for the moment, he was successful in halting his attempts in retrieving back what he stole, as well as Eggman's little hideaway, yet the hedgehog made it clear right then and there that Doom would be doing no such thing. The declarations of this perhaps led to the bird-like thing taking him at the behest of its 'parent'. Though how he could be related to this winged creature baffled him, at least the other bipedal members, he could see some relation.

'After all,' Shadow mentally noted, looking up at his most recent thorn in his side. 'What does he have to put in to make the likes of you?'

Normally, he'd outwardly proclaim such a thing, as frankly, the creature was in no way the most beautiful of birds or other flying animals (it wasn't a beautiful anything really), yet given his position, despite himself, Shadow found it best to keep his mouth shut and mind focused on things outside of insulting his captor. Oh, it would come eventually, but it'd be far better when there was at least something solid beneath his feet.

It was then that it struck him. It would've been risky, if not outright near fatal if he couldn't pull it off at just the right time. Then again, there was also the fact that this flying creature was holding the hedgehog at the behest of its 'master'. The reason as to why Black Doom had ordered that instead of simply telling the thing to drop him…that would simply have to be considered for later. Besides, this would make his message even clearer to the horned being.

How to execute it though, that was the important part. Yes, he could, with enough struggling, wriggle out of the avian creature's grip, yet he didn't wish to get out entirely. Just enough for one arm, that was all he needed. Just one arm, and then he could go from there. Yet given how the creature seemed to sense his wriggling meant there was something afoot, and in turn, tightened its tail around him, Shadow, to his dismay and frustration, realized he'd have to bide his time and steadily ease through with his strategy.

It was a light tug at first, the Black Hawk barely even registering it, aside from the fact that it felt 'soft and plush' against its tail. No matter, as it was far from a hindrance. Besides, the orders from its Breeder and parent were absolute; this defect and disobedient cretin was to be taken somewhere secure and held until its Breeder could see to him personally.

The once grounded temple that now rivaled the clouds had come into existence long before the Hawk's conception, the knowledge of it even being present in its mind due to its parent sharing said knowledge with his spawn.

'Constructed when this planet was still young and vital…teeming with hundreds to thousands of life forms.' Hundreds to thousands…even if that were the case (and if Doom had declared such, then it must've been the truth), they were no forms of life it had concern for. 'If all goes according to plan, then our arrival will commence the awakening of that relic. Our ancient weapon.'

His joy upon relaying such news to it and its siblings, both flying and bipedal, it was near unfathomable when the Hawk experienced it overtaking its senses. They all felt such elation, such satisfaction that this was going to soon be taking place. The reason as to why their Breeder was so ecstatic and eager didn't register with them, whether such things couldn't due to their smaller field of intelligence or perhaps because his jubilation was more personal in nature, the Hawk was left unsure. Why it would be 'personal', as Black Death seemed to suggest, it couldn't grasp either. Breeder shared everything with them, as they themselves belonged to him entirely. What would be 'personal' that it couldn't be understood, let alone shared with all of them as everything else was?

The beginnings of these disruptions in its usual thought pattern were shortly lived, however, steadily being filtered out by the voice of the orders the avian creature was given by its parent. In the end, perhaps it didn't matter. No, it didn't matter at all-

SCREECH!

That certainly got its attention. His gloved hand increased its grip on the evidently sensitive appendage, tightening his digits around the tail that bound him until, sure enough, he felt its hold begin to loosen. Despite the already firm grip he had, Shadow found his hand nearly slip at the sudden movement of the creature's tail, the straightening of the appendage throwing him off for a moment, he having to adjust and allow himself to be taken and go along with it. It was a greatly inferior alternative to Chaos Control, yet it was the only solid 'thing' in range the hedgehog could use for support.

Chaos Control…the Emeralds he had worked for…that HE had stolen from him…

The Black Hawk hadn't intended to release its current charge, the surge of pain that shot through its tail causing it to unwind out of sheer reflex. And to a degree, it was thankful that it hadn't up and dropped its cargo, though this produced yet another problem. The hedgehog continued to hold and clench down on its tender, nerve-filled appendage, and from the sudden sensation of his gloved hands grasping and clawing at its underside, the Hawk determined that he was using its tail to literally climb upward. Whatever the case, now, what registered with it for sure was the fact that the hedgehog's grips and motions were causing great deals of pain to its tail, and unless his actions were put to a halt, there was no way it could garner enough concentration to continue forward.

So close, he was so close! His carrier seemed to have no feet or talon-like claws of any kind, so at least Shadow wouldn't have to concern himself over being snared by such things. Though given their absence, he found himself with nothing else he could snag on to hoist himself up. There were the creature's massive, scaled wings, of which were flapping furiously to make him lose his grip, a factor that made even getting ahold of them near impossible. Despite it being his only current lifeline now, Shadow had no reservations in potentially injuring the scaled, avian-like creature. Heck, if he had his way, he'd send the thing plummeting straight to the ground if he could! Yet he couldn't risk injuring the wings, at least not for now. A small bruise here and there to them, oh, that would be fine, but unless he wanted both to be sent plummeting to the Earth below, he needed them both in reasonable condition.

Plummeting to the Earth…'Maria…this is what you wanted…my promise- 'Shadow immediately shook his head, the chilled rush of wind on his face as well as the creature's pained, anger-filled shrieking serving as good enough distractions as well. 'No, not now! I don't have time for that now!'

It had very nearly forced him to let go, yet all the same, in some small way, the black hedgehog was thankful for it. While the creature seemed to possess no beak of any kind, Shadow found the hand reaching and grabbing for its wing struck with the sensation of it being stung, as if from some sort of unseen area on the underside of its angled front (it's mouth? What could he even call it?), some sort of needle-like object had pierced his skin.

Needles. Needles all over…in his flesh…

Given his other arm was hanging onto the tail, Shadow decided the best option was to use his feet, jet shoes flaring up and legs kicking, the heat from the thrusters grazing and sending waves of searing pain through the Hawk's underside, yet still, it wasn't enough! He could wear it down eventually, yet ideally, a path of least resistance virtually nonexistent at this point, the path that would prove to be the quickest was what Shadow was truly in need of-

It was then that, while it had yet to fully surrender, the avian creature ceased struggling, its wings slowing down to where they were still flapping rapidly, yet there was much more rhythm and thought put behind each movement. It didn't take long for Shadow to catch onto what had been the cause, his ears, and soon his eyes, seeing exactly what had drawn the black, bird-like alien's focus.

They began as undistinguishable, red blurs that were barely visible amidst the thick, white mist of the clouds, yet the sounds the shapes produced were identified immediately by the black hedgehog, the flying alien appearing as if it had no idea what was going on. They weren't jets, the sizes far too small, yet the near deafening noise of thrusters sending them tearing through the air at such a high velocity couldn't be dismissed. Wait, Shadow thought. Red…sounded like a jet as the flew…he had seen these before. But something was off. These things, they belonged to 'him', all his trademark marksmanship was present, yet as they drew closer and closer in what couldn't have been no more than a few seconds, the hedgehog came to realize that these were not the small, aircraft shaped Badniks he and the newly formed 'Team Dark' had come across.

Either that, or the Doctor had decided that they looked better with a bird head.

Whatever the case, they had made their introduction into the scene, the undersides of the soaring machines unhitching and releasing a flurry of explosives as they went over the detached pieces of what had once been a connected, intact temple. The resulting detonations and wild fires that came with them were more than enough to get the Arms' attention, several black, bipedal figures as well as other flying varieties, those alike to the creature currently carrying him and smaller specimens, coming out of the few areas where they could be held and supported. And seeing as the 'Soldiers' were essentially stuck where they were, it fell on the other 'half' of the armada to deal with these more mechanical intruders.

The Black Hawk gazed intently at the flurry of red, flying anomalies that had come to seemingly combat its siblings and in turn, its parent. Such bizarre things, they resembled some of the avian creatures this planet held, some of their traits being those it could link to itself even. Yet all the same, sudden attack or not, Breeder's orders were absolute, and given that its charge was still fighting it for control, it had yet to complete its task, so to begin another would be-

WHOOSH!

It missed it by just mere inches.

Its four, red eyes caught sight and its reflection in the bird's blue, glassy ones, the Black Hawk stilling its wings. Whether out of fear, surprise, or it simply being the only tactic coming to mind, either way, it worked for the most part. The mechanical, red bird flew above the charcoal skinned avian, the heat of its single thruster just barely managing to singe its back, though only by a small amount given the thickness of its skin. Unfortunately for it, when it had performed the action of allowing gravity to take it downward to dodge the incoming projectile, by sheer reflex, its thinner tail and drawn up closer to its underside to keep it protected. Yet in doing so, the Hawk had unintentionally brought 'him' closer to it as well.

'At last!'

Wasting no time, knowing well he had wasted enough already, Shadow grabbed ahold of the creature's thick throat, clutching down hard as with what he was attempting to do, the strength of his grip mattered now more than ever. The winged alien howled and screeched its high-pitched call, whether out of pain or to possibly call some of the other winged ones around, Shadow knew not, and frankly didn't wish to find out. Wrapping an arm around its neck, the sensation of it 'stinging' him again resonated within his shoulder, the hedgehog instinctively kicking to dislodge whatever it was possibly sticking in him. Unlike prior, however, Shadow was in close enough proximity for his shoes to contact the avian, the feeling of the flares emitting from his jet shoes forcing it to release whatever it had pierced the hedgehog's shoulder with.

It wasn't as graceful as he had ideally wished it to be, the fact the action was successful at all would have to be enough of a victory, as Shadow quickly hoisted himself upward, one leg on either side of the creature's neck. His goal had been achieved, he had successfully mounted it.

It didn't take this well, of course, its thrashing and wild flapping nearly knocking Shadow off, his gloved fingers practically clawing themselves into the flesh of the alien's neck. Of course, that was when he felt the tip of its tail poking and stabbing at his back. It was just a hunch, yet given how it managed to have enough room to coil around him before and then some…then perhaps it would do.

Waiting (even MORE waiting) for the right moment, the ebony colored hedgehog managed to snag ahold of the wriggling, bizarrely thin appendage (if he didn't know any better, it looked almost like a spinal cord covered in a thin layer of pebbled flesh) and drag it forward until he had enough of it in his grasp and range. The Hawk howled yet again, yet it found its holler silenced by something tight and long being forced against its throat. Something that felt rather familiar, and judging from its general shape, size, and the now searing pain in its backside, it was indeed what it thought it was.

It took a little bit more effort on his part, Shadow somewhat alarmed at the sheer will and determination of these creatures. In some sense, he found it somewhat admirable and perhaps a little bit familiar…though that was yet another thing he wasn't wishing to delve into now, nor did he have the time to. Another good yank forward, and the creature, whether from shock or the fact that the compression on its throat was beginning to wear on it, began to lessen its struggles and simply flap its large wings, keeping it and its newly established 'rider' airborne.

'Well, that takes care of you.' Shadow inwardly declared, prideful in having overtaken and now overruled his captor. 'Now, to fly back to where- '

"Well, well! That was quite a display!"

The Hawk began to move again, head looking in various directions to where the unfamiliar voice had come from. Shadow found himself joining in as well, for despite the sound of it being somewhat distorted and semi-corrupted, almost as if he were listening to a recording of some kind.

'The Countdown…'

Though it seemed to be addressing him directly, so it couldn't have been that. Not to mention, he had just heard that same voice back in Cryptic Castle, in the same manner.

Flying up to him and the now 'tame' Black Hawk was a silvery, roundish object of metal, two satellites protruding out of either side and one stationed on top, a small screen in the center of the object's front side displaying the image of a portly man with thick, dark spectacles, goggles atop his bald head, and a rather prominent, long, red mustache.

"Hey, listen, Shadow, glad you're here! Sure, we kind of missed each other back in that old castle, but seeing as we're in the same area and you clearly know how to get those things under your control- "as if on cue, the Hawk began thrashing again, of which earned it another choking. Not that this particularly calmed it ALL the way down, yet it kept it from moving as much. "Well, mostly. Either way, seeing as you're clearly not a fan of these creatures either, might I suggest a little collaboration?"

 **Space Colony Ark**

In retrospect (something of which was becoming rather common lately, Shadow noted), it was near almost perfect. The one he had initially been meaning to see just decides to show up at that given moment? And even more, he was up and ready to propose some sort of little 'deal' for his services? Indeed, it was too good to be true.

And as such, Shadow's doubts in the scientist's proposition were met.

From what Eggman had relayed to him, his grievances against the Black Arms began the moment they decided to lay siege to Westopolis and several other areas, particularly a certain canyon with a temple that had suddenly just rose into the sky. In his words, what good was conquering the world's cities and building the Eggman Empire if there WERE no cities to begin with?

'Or a planet…you would know about that, wouldn't you?'

So, from the Doctor's standpoint, the best way to get vengeance on these beings that dared to move in on his supposed manifest destiny was to strip them of the flying structure, something of which Shadow had absolutely no objections to. Thus, even if no such thing was mutually agreed upon, the scientist forcing it upon the charcoal colored hedgehog, a small 'partnership' was formed between them.

He would assist in seeing the flying temple become nothing more than a collection of shattered, broken stone wherever it so happened to land, and in turn, depending on how well he did his part (of which turned out to be most of it, to his frustration), the Doctor would in turn assist in giving him what Black Doom had yet to fully disclose aside from vague scenes of being trapped inside a fluid-filled capsule aboard the Ark.

And the first step to that was destroying the glowing, green spheres that, according to the mustached scientist, "emitted strong magnetic fields" that somehow ran throughout the entirety of the structure, thus reacting to their activation and in turn, being drawn to said field and traveling with it.

"Though I do wonder," Shadow remembered him saying, the statement still prominent in his mind, even more so now than before. "How exactly were these stones activated in the first place?"

The hedgehog simply answered that he didn't know, yet they were active now, so there was nothing more to do than simply 'de-activate' them.

 **Airborne Temple**

The process of getting the Black Hawk under control (and that was a vast overstatement) took a good amount of trial and error, and while choking it with its elongated tail served to force its struggles to momentarily cease, it didn't exactly urge it to move forward. Luckily, given its length (and more importantly its sensitivity), Shadow found another method.

Pain was a good enough motivator, and its neck was certainly stronger than its tail, so thus, it wasn't long until both the Black Arms, grounded and airborne, and any members of Eggman's newly arrived mechanical fleet came to see the fruits of the lone hedgehog's labor.

Gone was the tail against its throat, it instead being held in the firm grip of its smaller, far spikier rider. The other hand rested against the avian creature's thick neck, fingers wrapped underneath the head. It was something of a strange method to use, given that he had yet to see anything suggesting that one needed to divide their attention to the front AND back of them to ride something. Then again, it wasn't as if Shadow was riding anything conventional. And given that from the passing pieces of temple grounds below them (despite them being currently airborne), his method had proven to be successful.

With one hand, he would twist the head to direct it to where he wished for it to travel, and if it refused or began to struggle, then the other hand would compress around its tail, forcing the alien to comply with Shadow's wishes. And should it be going too slow for his liking, a light kick to the sides would indicate what he required.

"You two seem to be getting along." The silvery device with satellites floating next to the two of them observed. "Honestly though, you didn't have to. One of the Balkyries would've been much better!" the Doctor insisted. "Wouldn't have to put in this much effort to simply get it to move."

"If this thing knows what's good for it, that won't have to be an option." The hedgehog noted. "Though given this baby's stubbornness- "as if on cue, the Hawk attempted to yank its head away from his hand, earning it a squeeze to the tail. "I'll keep that option in mind."

Said option wasn't an entirely bad one, in fact, it wasn't bad at all. Packed with bombs and everything, it would've been more than suitable for what the hedgehog and Eggman were planning to do. Though given how many of said mechanical birds had been promptly destroyed or ripped apart and sent flying over the ledges of the floating temple, perhaps sticking with the unruly bird-like Arms spawn was the better option. Besides, judging from what he had observed of the Black Arms so far, unless they were aiming for him directly, there was a chance that perhaps they'd lay off given one of their own was now his hostage.

"Hey, pay attention!" Eggman's voice cried out from the device. "My sensors are picking up strong waves from that section there!" Shadow's eyes traveled down to the area the human scientist (or rather, the oval-shaped thing displaying his face) sighted. Yes, Shadow realized. He had seen that area before. He had outright been there not but a good few hours ago! "One of those spheres much be in there! Get that thing to take you down there! Hurry!"

A small turn of its head, the Black Hawk held little idea of what the strange, silvery ball was saying, yet from its rider's treatment of its tail, apparently, he had wished for it to take him down there. As it had little other choice in the matter, Breeder's orders and will being compromised with the pain being inflicted, the winged creature dove down towards the large, floating platform of aged stone.

While he knew it would come eventually, it was at that moment Shadow realized he had little idea of what to do regarding keeping the creature in his possession. Once he had dismounted it, it would surely either attempt to either fly off or try and make a grab at him again, whisking him off and leaving him back where he started. In fact, the moment he had tried to get off the Black Hawk's back, the thing had begun pitching quite a fit, it very nearly knocking Shadow off balance with its rapidly flapping wings.

"Get that stupid thing under control!" Eggman commanded, though it wasn't as if HE was the one having to struggle against the flying alien's weight!

Even with the ebony hedgehog holding, grasping firmly onto its tail, the Hawk continued pulling him forward. More and more, further and further away from the enclosed section of this, floating piece until Shadow came to realize the toes of his shoes were just barely teetering off the edge!

"No!" he bellowed through gritting, grinding teeth, one foot stepping back, he then channeling all his strength on the still flapping and screeching Hawk, its freedom so close. "You're…" both his feet were completely on solid ground. "…not…" just a little more now! It was nearly back in his grasp! If he could just get ahold of its neck! "…leaving!"

The sensation of fabric covered, yet firm and strong digits clasping around its throat and compressing down on its windpipe served in momentarily catching the four-eyed creature off guard. What had ultimately forced it to cease its struggling was the same hand that had gotten ahold of its neck forcing it down to the ancient tiles coated in light blankets of moss, the hand soon being replaced with the hardened, far less comfortable sole of a shoe. The cry it emitted only prompted the hedgehog above it to apply more pressure, said cry devolving to little more than a pained moan.

Even with time being of the essence, Shadow held his foot there for a few more moments before he was certain that, even if just for a little while longer, that the Black Hawk wouldn't attempt to do something so rash soon. Indeed, from the looks of it, as it steadily propped itself up on its large, membranous wings, yet it didn't fight against Shadow as he took its tail in his hand once again. He didn't squeeze, yet it was more than clear he was at the ready if need be.

"That was a little much, don't you think?" the hedgehog heard the silvery device question, its creator's image flashing up on the small imbedded screen.

"Nothing more than a small taste of payback." Shadow remarked. "Besides, if Black Doom cares 'oh-so-much' about his 'children', then this'll send him a little message to keep them out of my way."

"Black Doom…hmm." Eggman scoffed. "Sounds like someone's compensating for something. Who's he trying to impress?"

He stopped himself before it managed to slip out, but Shadow found himself nearly chuckle at the Doctor's comment. There was anything good when it related to the Black Arms, he could at least take some enjoyment at that. With the recaptured and subdued Black Hawk in hand, all three of them entered the enclosed area, the hedgehog's ruby red eyes nearly blinded with the encompassing, powerful, and despite himself, rather beautiful green light emitting from a familiar looking sphere.

The three satellites attached to Eggman's communicator immediately began buzzing and moving in various directions, almost to the point where it was possible that all the movement might've up and disconnected a wire or two. "I knew it." The Doctor said, eyes concealed by thick spectacles eyeing the lit-up artifact. "These spheres are the key. If you, err, WE take them out, then this place is going to be old history once again!"

"And I assume you have a method for that?" Shadow questioned. Truthfully, while Knuckles hadn't tried to simply tear through the thing with his fists, the hedgehog was left wondering if perhaps, all other factors such as the shock it produced for him aside, if that would've been enough. And regardless, it wasn't as if he was willing to go and try to find him, not with how their last trek through ended.

Even still, whether Shadow wished for such or not, a small yet heavily silenced portion of him knew well that somewhere down the line, he and the echidna would be crossing paths yet again.

"Oh, I may have a little something." The Doctor's voice yanked Shadow from his musings, along with the sound of an object landing on the ground. Looking in the communicator's direction, what appeared to be a small, disc-like device of some kind lay beneath it, presumably having been ejected from whatever bottom compartment it was built in with. "Didn't know this little baby's also a bomb distributor, did you!?" he paused for a moment, as if he were waiting for Shadow to respond.

Fine, yet if just to move this along. "No. No, I didn't." Besides, getting those Emeralds back were the real prizes.

"Of course, you didn't." Shadow rolled his eyes. "Anyway, get that thing on the sphere's surface, and lock it in place. Once I input the activation code, you, or us, I mean, will have five minutes before it detonates."

"You're being surprisingly generous, Doctor." The dark hedgehog remarked, taking the small bomb in hand and making his way up to the sphere, Hawk still by him with tail still in hand. "I can be out of here in less than one."

What the two were discussing was lost on the Black Hawk, yet it held suspicions on what exactly the small, roundish tool in the hedgehog's hand was as well as its purpose. Despite its current predicament, as well as the near all-encompassing desire to bring Shadow to his knees and scoop him up to carry off, the Arms spawn couldn't help yet ponder as to what, let alone, why this hedgehog, this 'Shadow' was even doing all of this. What was it, or he (labels such as that confused it, let alone were deemed unnecessary as they all came from Breeder) even thinking doing all of this? He had been the one to deliver the two Chaos Emeralds to its parent, so what had possessed him to go off with this invader of their sacred grounds? After all, didn't he too belong to…wait, what was happening?

The small display screen on the device began changing from being devoid of anything to some strange characters in red, the limited, animalistic senses it was blessed with unfortunately not allowing it to understand what it was even seeing, let alone why the red characters seemed to prompt the hedgehog that had forcibly taken it under his 'command' to force it outside of the small enclosure. With some pain-ridded goading on his part, the Black Hawk found itself in the air once again, the strange, silvery 'egg' with a human face following them close by. What was going on? What were they even doing? Yes, it knew well what IT was doing, at least what it was SUPOSSED to be doing, it simply unable to do such thanks to its charge taking control from it, yet why the sudden rush? The temple's grounds, even though the strange, metal birds had come to barrage the structure, were safe enough. More than that even, Breeder even directing his children to come here as soon as it was free from the confines of that canyon because-

BOOM!

Even with its head kept in a reasonably firm hold, the Hawk looked back from where the massive vibration had emitted from, its four, red eyes widening in horror at the sight of what had once been a holding place of the temple's sacred treasures being reduced to a flurry of flying bricks and crumbling stone, all of which had been ensnared by the unforgiving force of gravity and dragged further and further down until they faded beneath the clouds below.

 **Space Colony Ark**

Indeed, once the creature had gotten what he and the Doctor were planning to do, Shadow's control over it had become more than a little difficult, not that reigning it in was the easiest of tasks in general.

All the previous areas that the once dormant stones lay were all found, planted with, and promptly destroyed with explosives, each individual destruction sending more and more portions of the airborne structure falling to the Earth below.

And while Shadow was more than content with doing said task, the prospect of Eggman spilling all he knew in return wasn't the entire reason he was so willing to do so. He didn't wish to seem desperate, such a thing was what had entangled him up in this entire situation to begin with. And it wasn't as if the mustached scientist was exactly the most trustworthy of individuals either.

'Funny, considering that YOU'RE the one who used HIM as a pawn before-'

Yet after what he had done there, destroying the stones that he had unintentionally assisted in activating, at the time, Shadow believed that even if Eggman would go back on his word, even if he would flat out lie to him, both options were taken into consideration, even with the man's actions and own personal agenda of his being there in mind…what else was there?

For at the time, by the time the hedgehog had made it to the last of those glowing stones, when that one was gone, and the entirety of the temple was sent to the ground, there was no way that Black Doom would've ever considered doing anything outside of going after his head.

At least, at the time, that was what he initially believed, up until but a few moments ago.

 **Airborne Temple**

The Hawk bellowed loudly, its throat ragged with how violently its vocals shook. It didn't care that Shadow had practically broken its tail by now, he and this strange floating thing had to be stopped! Where in the world were any of its kin?! Where was Breeder to promptly take and beat this horrid little creature into submission for such gross disobedience and conduct?! Not the Hawk itself, yet all its groundling children and its siblings were in peril!

Where was its parent?!

Luckily for it, Shadow had ultimately resigned to letting it holler and wail, for after this, it would all be over.

"Hey, what's with you?" Eggman questioned. "Don't tell me that you're actually getting motion sick."

"No, of course not!" the streaked hedgehog retorted, though he found himself having to lean over and massage his temple. "It…it just hasn't been the best of days."

"That's it? Just hasn't been the 'best of days'?" the floating device inched closer, the scientist observing Shadow with a growing sense of befuddlement. Was he trembling? "And here I thought there was no one better for the job than you!"

In any other case, Shadow would more than declare such a statement the truth, despite how obviously self-serving it was to the Doctor's own agenda. Yet at the current moment, the throbbing pounding that had assaulted him had surprisingly enough, near forced the Ultimate Lifeform to his knees. Perhaps to a degree, he was somewhat at fault (not that he'd openly admit such a thing), yet of what concern was it amid all of this? Simply getting out of the range of the blasts of both the bombs he planted and those of the still incoming Balkyries were constant threats that had yet to stop plaguing him (no thanks to the Doctor himself). And that stupid, screeching, winged creature had done little to help matters either, it seeming to go out of its way to become more and more difficult as time passed! He had no time to deal with something as small and insignificant as a developing headache!

It meant nothing! It meant nothing at all…

'Just one more…' Shadow forced himself to rise, his temple still awash with stinging, burning pain, yet what lay before him served as enough of a determent. It had to. 'Just one more…and either the Doctor will speak…or this'll definitely be something that'll grab that thieving monster's attention.'

The Black Hawk he had used for traversing through the skies had still sat there, howling and wailing as if it were desperately seeking some form of help, anything or anyone that would perhaps put a stop to what the hedgehog was about to do. The fact it hadn't simply attempted to escape again was somewhat puzzling to both Shadow and the Doctor, yet now, it's insistence on making a racket had to be ignored. It wouldn't be much longer before it'd realize it had just wasted its breath on nothing.

Speaking of said Doctor, Shadow gestured to the communicator, eyes intense and focused, though how much of it was real or a display to ward off his curious, prying eyes had yet to be decided. "Well?" Shadow in turn questioned. "I would hope you brought enough."

"Of course, I brought enough!" Eggman retorted. "Don't take me as some simpleton! Besides, if I hadn't, then the one in trouble would be you, considering what you want is dependent on THESE being reduce to rubble." Silence fell between the two, it even seemed the Hawk had gone quiet, the hedgehog glaring intensely at the flickering screen before him. It was only when the bomb fell out of the bottom compartment did his eyes leave the small display. "Now, while I know it isn't something generally associated with you, yet I can trust that you'll complete what we've agreed upon thoroughly and fully, yes? Besides, as far as I see it, we're in this together. You don't want these creatures flying around on this anymore than I do."

Shadow found himself momentarily robbed of words, yet ultimately found his voice again. "I don't need you to tell me that." With one swift motion, he gathered up the single, and if all went according, the last of the bombs needed.

Making his way up the stone steps, the very same he had traveled up just this morning, his eyes fell upon the familiar, and last stone of the temple. Whilst it had been mentioned and questioned throughout this treacherous excursion, he wondered how much Eggman knew regarding this place. True, Knuckles had previously stated that the structure had been around for as long as he could remember, yet if it was as ancient as it truly was, that just opened for several more questions. Even with areas such as the aptly named 'Mystic Ruins', several elements regarding, well, basically everything about this barely intact structure simple didn't match up. If what Black Doom professed was indeed the truth (something of which Shadow was beginning to severely doubt considering their now incredibly strained relationship), then how he, or rather, his 'children' managed to do it was another thing that needed pondering. While he couldn't gauge their exact intelligence for sure, ultimately, from what he had experienced and seen thus far, the Black Arms didn't seem particularly gifted when it came to anything outside of swinging their fists or scraping their claws to try and get at him.

For such simple-minded creatures, little more than large, blundering animals, Shadow couldn't understand how all of this was even possible. Heck, if it wasn't for the fact he was standing on those fruits of labor, he would've outright declared it impossible.

'Though I do wonder something else,' Eggman had also inquired, 'It is peculiar that you're familiar with this place as well, Shadow. True, I haven't seen the Knucklehead lately, but from the sound of it, your little earlier trip here didn't end too well.'

Well, soon, it wasn't going to matter. What had happened then, why, how, it would all become obsolete, just like the rest of this place. That answer wasn't exactly what the Doctor was wishing for, let alone satisfied with, yet Shadow said no more. It was all he was willing to relay, and besides, it was had gotten him this far.

He stood in front of the glowing, sphere, its green light a beacon signaling the last of the temple's sources of power. It would soon be over, and hopefully, persisting doubts notwithstanding, he'd get somewhere.

Those questions, those strange, irresistible urges that had come over him, forcing, guiding him against his will to that stone…soon, it'd be rectified, and he'd never have to think of it again.

'Really now? You and I both know that's not what you truly think.'

He was so close. Just mere inches away from placing the bomb and finalizing this task, yet all the same, the darkly colored speedster couldn't help himself, an all too familiar sensation beginning to plague his body.

"N-No." Shadow choked out, voice barely comparable to a whisper. "You can't…"

"Shadow?" The Doctor's questioning, potentially boarding on concerned, voice was heard from behind, yet the hedgehog paid no mind. With the knowledge that 'he' was here, it was impossible to simply push it to the side. Especially with all he had witnessed the being do…not that he was afraid.

'I don't think that's true either.' The low, husky baritone echoed. 'You wouldn't have even gone to that city the night prior had you not been afraid of never knowing. Never understanding anything outside of your name, and even that was bare minimum.'

No, he wouldn't. He REFUSED to be intimidated by him! "Where are you?" Shadow demanded, though given the sudden tightening on his vocals, as if his very throat was experiencing the same still, paralyzing numbness the rest of his body was, it came out as little more than a strained growl. "Show…show yourself!"

"What the, I'm right here!" the scientist's device responded, the hedgehog's ruby eyes widening in trepidation and, despite himself, a good amount of fear. Was…was he the only hearing-

'You could say that, yes.'

He didn't even answer back. He hadn't told him anything.

'You don't have to.' Doom responded. 'Surely you didn't believe that I simply communicated directly, did you?'

"How…how are you- "

'Yes, how indeed.' Despite his current state, hand desperately attempting to cling to the bomb, of which was threatening to slip out of his steadily weakening grip. 'How am I able to do this? How did I know where you were, where you had gone,' he wasn't there, he couldn't have been, yet the sensation of a light breeze against his skin was almost mistaken for the horned alien having materialized and whispered right in his ear. 'How you are the only one there that can hear my voice?'

"Hey, can you hear me? Speak up!"

'I will who hears my voice and who doesn't'. And as of now, I want to speak to you. Just to you.'

Frankly, from what he was seeing, Eggman had little to no idea what was even happening. It was as if Shadow had simply 'stopped', his small frame appearing to grow more and more rigid and stiff, light trembling beginning to overtake him in brief yet clearly noticeable spurts. And while at first, he was more than annoyed in that the hedgehog had dared to outright ignore him the first time he had been gracious enough to express concern, yet given what he was witnessing now, perhaps the simple act of responding wasn't entirely possible.

Of course, all the better that he was technically a good distance away from all the chaos transpiring. Still though, behavior like this…as unsure and frankly, in the dark, about it as he was, the mustached man had already set to do a little bit of research once he could focus his priorities on something other than keeping these outer planet invaders from stepping in on his turf.

'Maybe those samples will prove to be more useful than I suspected…'

While it perhaps wasn't the wisest decision to take his attention from the strangely behaving hedgehog, Eggman couldn't help but also notice that the large, winged creature Shadow had taken to using as his main source of transport had gone rather quiet. Granted, with his rather 'direct' methods of letting it know that it wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, the Doctor, at first, had come to believe that its eventual complacency had simply been the result of knowing what would happen if it tried to escape yet again.

And in a sense, he would've still believed this, if not for the fact of just how strangely calm it had become. It had been pitching such a fit before, yet now it was as serene and still as the endless blue horizon above them? It didn't click right with him. And whilst he couldn't exactly determine whether it truly meant something, this creature and assumedly the rest of its kind having just made their entrance not but a day ago, those small, red eyes appeared to be staring right back at him, as if making some sort of direct statement that despite things having gone well for him so far, victory wasn't something that would simply come to them. It and the rest of its kin here weren't finished in putting up a fight just yet.

All of this, however, was unable to be seen by Shadow, his eyes still focused intently on the glowing sphere before him, every other sense threatening to be overtaken by some invading force, the chilled air that had previously been lightly stinging his cheeks steadily becoming the only element relieving the strange, developing heat consuming him.

'I wish to have an audience with you.' Doom's voice communicated, the hedgehog's ruby eyes shifting back and forth in hopes of catching something, any sort of sign of either that six-limbed 'eye' or perhaps Doom himself. While yes, it might've not been enough, at least he'd be able to make further use of the bomb in his possession. 'I doubt that very much, Shadow. And really, such hostility? I am astonished.'

His movements were limited for reasons he couldn't understand, yet Shadow found he could at least perform small, basic acts, such as grinding his teeth, of which were perhaps the only means he could use to further get his point across. "You…you said that-"

'Don't speak. It'll be easier for you.'

Silence filled the air.

'Come now, I know you can.'

'…you said you wanted to talk.' He hated it, indulging his current tormentor like this, yet frankly, what other choice was there? 'What do I have to do to make you see I'm through with talking to you?'

'And do you think I care?' Doom answered back. 'If anything, this is me expressing to you a kindness that, as of now, you've been incredibly undeserving of. Although, it is quite a strange development, seeing as you came to your senses and assisted us ultimately in awakening this monument of ours- '

'I did no such thing! You- 'Shadow began to mentally protest, yet found himself unable to continue. 'You…'

'Yes? I, what?' Doom questioned. 'Tell me, what did I do? What contribution did I have to an action of YOUR doing?'

It…it wasn't though. It wasn't of his doing, not entirely, Doom's tone more than indicative of that. Why though? What in the world was happening to him?! What had happened to him then, and why was it happening now?! Better yet, how?!

'I express kindness to you despite all you've done, yet believe me when I say that should you place that device on that stone, that kindness may not return.'

'And what if I should? What would you do? Kill me?' Shadow questioned. True, while it was something of a challenge for the horned being, if not to perhaps allow the hedgehog to finally gain some reprieve for all that scoundrel had put him through thus far, the silence that followed his inquiry struck him as odd. Was Black Doom contemplating how to answer him, as if something that he would've deemed simple to answer was requiring some thought?

Shadow's mind buzzed with why this even was, the alien's answer only further making these questions even more poignant. 'I hope that will not have to reach that point. Even with what you are trying to accomplish.'

Will not have to reach that point…so he wasn't willing to go through with such a thing? At least not yet? What could possibly be dissuading his decision for something that Shadow assumed would be so simple a choice to make? Better yet, as he came to realize, why hadn't he outright been slain when he was left unconscious at the site of Glyphic Canyon in the first place? Granted, slaying the Ultimate Lifeform would be far from a simple task, awake or not, yet still, the burning question as to 'why' couldn't be ignored.

'You call yourself that, yet you don't hold much idea of what it means, do you?'

'What-, yes I do. It's-'

'What that robotic duplicate of the blue one called you? What his creator addressed you as? You attached meaning and significance to it because that title, that label, is one of the few things you know, albeit barely, that you can clutch onto to. That you're certain of, even if it's mainly fuel for your own ego.'

He scrambled, dug, practically clawed through his mind to conjure up something, anything to retort back to the being communicating with him. He…he was wrong. He wasn't right about that, not at all! He…he KNEW he was called the Ultimate Lifeform because that's what…that's what…

'What 'he' called you, the professor. The Doctor's ancestor.' While at this moment, it wasn't entirely likely, especially given how he couldn't catch an inkling of the eye's presence anywhere, Shadow couldn't shake the feeling that even if it was as simple as simply hiding under the portion he currently stood on, somewhere, he was here. Listening, observing, and perhaps, waiting. 'He will not provide you with anything.' Black Doom stated. 'Did he give you anything when you first awoke? Did he provide you any answers for why you were in that capsule, why your mind was so frazzled and broken, unable to recall anything of value? You didn't even know your own name until the bat told you.'

It wasn't much, yet the alien's blabbering provided the hedgehog with something. 'Is that the best you can do? Simply tell me what I already know?' it stung, the very act almost impossible as his nerves felt as if they were lit afire, yet Shadow's arm still moved forward, fingers desperately clutching and clinging to the small bomb as if it were a lifeline. And given the situation, for better or worse, perhaps, to a degree, it was.

He was about to do it. Even with himself, his very essence running through him, that connection was far smaller compared to those he shared with his brood. So soon…would it be so soon that he would lose him? They had been here but a couple of days, and already, what was supposed to be the testament of his power would be…no. No! No, he refused! He had come too far and traveled too long to allow this operation to simply slip through his fingers! 'Shadow! Cease this at once!' Doom's voiced bellowed throughout the smaller hedgehog's mind, said voice nearly deafening at his roar of dominance, or was it perhaps panic being concealed as such? 'Your efforts in assisting this scientist will amount to nothing! He cannot provide for you what I can! He will not! Don't be so easily swayed!'

'I can deal with him!' Shadow remarked, hand reaching up to the glowing stone. 'He won't be backing out of this until he provides me with what I want!'

'He will do NOTHING for you! Don't you understand?! Only I can help you! Your uncooperativeness has been your downfall so far, don't jeopardize yourself now!'

'No, don't YOU understand?! You and I are DONE! You've stolen from me and what you HAVE shown me has given me little to nothing! Going along with you is even worse of a risk than going with the Doctor!'

Finally, after what felt like ages, Shadow found his hand reaching the stone. Fingers released the explosive to stick on the carved, darkened surface. He had done it, his task was complete, yet, to his confusion and dismay, found that the heat had yet to subside.

'…so, that is how you wish to go about this.'

He still wished to talk? Here, the hedgehog had thought he made himself rather clear. 'What of it?'

'Nothing. It is just a pity that your defiance will be for nothing.' For nothing? Yeah right. Yet before he could respond as such, Doom cut him off yet again. 'Do not believe that this is over. I do not wish to have to terminate you.'

"Then what's stopping you?" Shadow managed to say, able to speak again.

'A few factors, actually. Yet make no mistake.' He didn't know exactly how, let alone why, yet Doom's presence, however he could sense such a thing, was beginning to fade. 'By the end of this, whatever the outcome, I promise you this, Shadow. Your life will be in my hands. Come what may, you will be mine.' His voice trailed off, steadily growing less and less audible with each passing moment, the echoes of the last few words the concealed, horned being spoke seemingly repeating themselves repeatedly in Shadow's mind.

'You will be mine…you will be mine…you will be mine…you will be…'

"Shadow!" that voice didn't belong to Doom, definitely not, yet suddenness of the shout, along with the panicked tone in his voice immediately drew Shadow's attention, Eggman's image on the silvery device frantically gesturing and pointing south of them. "Get your head out of the clouds! Get yourself on that stupid thing and let's get out of here!"

Shadow gazed out in the direction Eggman signaled to, the sight of it faint and rather obscure at first, yet soon, it became very apparent of what it was. His gaze then turned towards the 'steed' he had used to get thus far, its four, red eyes gazing outward towards the mass of black, flapping wings heading right towards them all.

He doubted it could, at least from what he had seen of it, yet Shadow still couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, on that avian's features, a small smirk of satisfaction was forming as its brethren drew ever and ever closer to them.

"Go, go, GO!" The mustached scientist hollered in a panic, Shadow immediately going towards the Hawk and mounting it once again. Surprisingly, it put up little to no fight, yet given what was coming, perhaps it wouldn't have needed to.

Lifting off the ground and soaring back up into the skies, the hedgehog knew well that whichever came first, the bomb or the swarm, he couldn't afford to lose his 'steed' until he got in range of at least a few feet or so above the ground. There appeared to be nothing else in range he could use for leverage if need be, and even then, he couldn't afford to lose control over the winged creature should it attempt to try and take him to wherever its leader was-

BOOM!

SCREECH!

He didn't have to wait for either of them to come first, as, to his dismay, the ringing in his ears and the fluttering blurs of black invading his vision alerted him that they would both come at the same time.

Though they seemed to share the same trait of a beakless face, the smaller, and far more numerous creatures the surrounded Shadow and his ride were presenting themselves as something to not be trifled with, relentlessly pecking and biting at the now surrounded hedgehog until he was certain that they had either managed to draw blood or fur. It wouldn't have surprised him if it turned out to be both.

Yet if they believed that he'd simply allow them to continue without some form of retaliation, then he'd immediately disprove that assumption. Shadow's hand managed to grab ahold of one of the creatures, he in turn sending it flying off with a good flick of his wrist. Two more were then snagged, of which were sent hurling towards the Earth below after he had surely broken something upon smashing the two together. And while it didn't exactly count as three, Shadow would take it for just one of these things served as quite an effective 'bat' against its brethren, he essentially whirling it around as it made contact and sent small sections of the swarm flying off.

Of course, this could only go on for so long, as while he had made his stance, there was only one of him and however many so of them. The Hawk also seemed aware of this, as with what must've been the fifth or sixth divebomb in his side, Shadow found himself losing balance and beginning to fall off the larger creature. Thinking fast, he managed to grab ahold and hoist himself partially on its back, yet this development revealed that the smaller, bird-like members of the alien race had a new tactic. One at a time, yet in quick secession, the small avian creatures dove in and pecked, scratched and bit at the hedgehog's face and temple, some latching onto his facial features and holding onto whatever piece they had managed to snag, continuing away with their painful methods.

By now, it had become clear to him that Eggman had long since made his way out of here, he was out here all alone at the mercy of these things. He had to think of something, as he couldn't rely on keeping himself upright for much longer! Even more, Shadow could've sworn he felt his ride's tail begin to wind and coil around one of his dangling legs!

'No…no! Not here!' he mentally bellowed, feeling his once iron grip steadily growing weaker and weaker, he barely holding onto the Hawk's backside now. He didn't come all this way to simply be put back in the same position as before!

He held on by just a couple of fingers now. The tail was working its way up to his midsection. If it managed to bind his arms, then it would all be over. He was slipping, gravity dragging him further and further down, right into the grasp of the one he had been captured by before. Right back into the hands of-

SCREECH!

It was then that Shadow realized his position was a blessing in disguise (even if at first, he thought the turn of events was just more rotten luck). Had he been on the Hawk's back completely, then he surely would've been thrown off and truly sent plummeting downward.

The impact of the lone Balkyry slamming into the chest of the Hawk had forced the winged beast to cease the actions of its tail, as well as the attacks of the several smaller Striders surrounding it, yet its rather abrupt entrance hadn't been entirely beneficial. It wasn't a chance Shadow was exactly eager to take, yet ultimately, it didn't seem another opportunity such as this would be coming his way soon. Grabbing ahold of the red robot's wing, the Badnik swerved around and attempted to get in another hit on the creature.

"No, you bird-brained dolt!" the voice of its creator scolded, the hedgehog hurriedly hoisting himself atop of him registering it too. "Get him down here! I'm not willing to lose him again just because you decided to take another crack at those things!"

Shadow didn't have time to register the context of Eggman's command though, as the received order sent the metallic bird's engine flaring, both it and its newly acquired passenger beginning to make their way from the scene and out of range of the aggressing Black Arms.

Something of which said Arms became more than aware of.

A reverberating, shrill cry was followed by the sensation of something wet and hot plastering itself on Shadow's shoulder, the sensation of something of a far harder material and sharper also assaulting that particular area.

It had done nothing to make him dislodge himself from atop the metallic bird, yet nevertheless, it was far from a pleasant feeling, the proboscis or whatever had broken through his skin being forced to move this way and that due to the continuous movement of the Balkyry. He didn't get the chance to look back, yet when it had become too unbearable, Shadow's gloved hand got a small image of what had previously lay hidden inside the airborne alien's hidden mouth.

It wasn't the easiest thing to gain ahold of, the surface slick and coated in some sort of thick mucus, yet given the cry of pain that emitted from the winged creature, Shadow deduced that it was more than a little sensitive. He would be able to work with that. With as much of a grip as he could manage, the hedgehog pulled and squeezed at the slippery appendage, his fingers feeling something of a far harder material and far slimmer build lay concealed inside. While this thing, whatever it was, was clearly made of far sterner (literally) stuff than what it was housed in, Shadow noticed that as he continued to pull and compress his clenched fist around the softer portion, the harder, smaller thing seemed to be pulling back into wherever it had come out of, the slicker portion in turn following suit.

The Hawk ultimately had been forced to release him, Shadow allowing himself to look back and see that it, had been set back a good distance behind to recuperate, the rest of its smaller brethren an even greater distance behind. And while they still had quite a distance to go, he could at least see the fertile, green Earth below. It was far from the area he had previously been in, evergreen trees and dense forests compared to the hot, lowland jungle before, yet it was something other than thick, powdery clouds. Just a bit more, and he'd be on the ground again. Just a bit more, and, if he was fortunate enough (even if fortune seemed to be going out of its way to avoid him), he'd be able to track down the Doctor and reap what he had sown-

WHAM!

"What the?!"

The second impact had nearly sent him off the Balkyry's frame entirely, Shadow having to practically hunker down and clutch onto the slim bird's build, and while he couldn't exactly see it, there was no mistaking of whom or what was exactly trying to get in one final try. The Hawk had ducked underneath and popped up on the left of him, the smaller hedgehog immediately assaulted by its winding tail grabbing at his wrist. Thankfully, due to the high velocity that the Badnik was traveling, the Hawk's 'prize' was able to undo the small loop it had formed, yet it was far from finished. Shadow realized this upon finding himself being pulled back and just nearly dislodged by a sudden coil the had worked its way around his small throat.

Before he could be wrenched off the flying robot completely, the ebony hedgehog found himself hanging onto its steely, cold, yet firm enough wings as if they were in only lifelines and to a degree, they were indeed. They were drawing closer and closer towards the ground, the wind nearly robbing him of breath. All that was missing was the heat…the heat and the sensation of his flesh beginning to burn, vision fading as moisture stung and clouded his vision as the Earth drew ever and ever closer, the heat only continuing to intensify-

SCREECH!

What was he doing?!

His arms weren't of much use now aside from holding on for dear life, yet if this thing had yet to learn well enough that such a thing would stop him, then perhaps one last little lesson was in order. It took some maneuvering on his part, such a position not exactly common for him to be in, yet a few well-timed kicks to the Hawk's head managed to allow the hedgehog to fasten his legs around the creature's neck in the same manner its tail had done around his own neck. It had begun to panic, yet its dissociation due to the blows it received allowed Shadow just enough time to overpower its strength, yanking it and himself back down, only this time, the Hawk found itself greeted with more than just the hardened sole of a jet shoe.

Shadow looked back just one more time, the sight of the Black Hawk flying back with its facial features having caught fire and its yowling, agony-ridden screams cementing that perhaps now it would get the message. With but a few more moments, the Balkyry came to hover slightly above the fertile, green grass outside of a nestled collection of trees, Shadow wasting no time in planting his feet back on the firm, solid ground below, taking in the oddly wonderful sensation and assurance that there was so much of it to go around without risk of falling.

"Finally, it was about time one of you managed to do SOMETHING right." Turning his head to the side, the recently descended Ultimate Lifeform found himself once again in the presence of the silvery communicator, its creator seeming to take note of the rather unpleased glare its company was presenting him. "Hey, believe it or not, this thing wasn't the easiest to make! Plus, it's rather fragile! It's not as if I can simply pop these things out! They take time to construct, you know!" his explanation generated no response. "Well, still alive, aren't you? Nothing looks like it's been broken." It was faint, barely audible, yet Shadow could've sworn that Eggman had muttered something else. Something about being "burnt".

Whatever the case, now, he wasn't interested in how supposedly 'fragile' and 'breakable' the floating device was. He was only interested in what he was promised.

That was made more than clear to the mustached scientist, his concealed eyes widening somewhat at the sheer intensity of the hedgehog's own, yet what had transpired and what he had just witnessed…perhaps he could extend this little collaboration. "You know," Dr. Eggman began, adjusting his thick spectacles. "It's rather fortunate on your part that I had the forethought to send one of my Balkyries up there to fetch you in case. If anything, you should perhaps be a little more appreciative of such kindness on my part- "

"I have no interest in your 'kindness' or whatever else you supposedly have. Of which is highly debatable. And I also have no interest in whatever half-truth bargaining you've got ready to spew out. I've had enough of that already." Shadow retorted, narrowing his already intense eyes.

"Well," Eggman interjected. "You do realize I didn't HAVE to do that, right? You're lucky as I would've let ANOTHER particular hedgehog simply drop and become little more than a blue splat- "

"I'm not talking about him." Shadow drew closer to the device's screen. "I'm talking about you giving me what you've promised."

Silence felt between the two, not a single word exchanged, yet the intensity in each of the other's eyes cemented that neither were willing to relent so easily. Even so, there were some key differences. Whilst Shadow's glare bore down upon the Doctor (or at least his image) with eyes of steel, uncompromising and unwilling to lessen their strength unless what he sought was given to him, Eggman's was less…obvious. True, his large, red brows were intensely furrowed and his lips straightening into a smooth, stern, cold look that matched his own reluctance to give in. In his mind, Shadow was the one in need of getting himself straightened out! They had just come from a floating fortress that had just been assumed to be an abandoned structure of ancient history for how many hundreds of years, yet all this insolent little punk cared about was getting information?! Did he just not account for any of that?! Besides, none of that had anything to do with why he had gone there in the first place! If those creatures could construct something like that out of rock, then what else did they have, and not just limiting those possibilities to the planet! They needed to be found and taken out before something like this happened again! The world was HIS to claim, not theirs!

It was then he realized. Information…information as to why he was stuck down in that chamber, unable to recall little else but his name…uh oh.

It couldn't be seen due to the thickness of his glasses, yet the balding scientist began peeling through the list of options running through his mind. All of which would most likely end with the obviously irritable hedgehog being dissatisfied with such an answer. True, he'd be unharmed (for the moment), yet this satellite was crafted in quite a hurry, and any spare parts he could salvage from it to combat those aliens, the better. Though really, what could he tell him? Oh yes, he knew well what happened, he knew more than enough, yet afterward…well, frankly, that was a mystery in of itself. If anything, if it hadn't been for the Doctor, that hedgehog would've probably been in a much different state had he not shut him up in that capsule.

Shut him up…in that capsule. His capsule…in his chamber…where that agent was lurking, sneaking around to perhaps uncover his 'secret treasure'. Even after the rouse of her assistance to them was up, she was apparently still ordered to keep a close eye on him in the months following that incident. Yet now, given the situation and what he was now up against, perhaps that 'early release' would come to benefit him more than just stopping Metal Sonic's acquisition of power.

"Don't think I'm not capable of simply going out and finding you." Shadow snarled, his already dying patience growing to near non-existence. "Perhaps that's the only way to get you to consent to whatever deal you've broken."

'Keep dreaming.' The scientist mentally huffed. 'Those bumbling detectives aren't going to be seeing a penny out of me for a LONG time, if ever.' Still, if this went sour, then he would need a plan B. His current location, whether Shadow knew it or not, he was unaware. Yet then again, he was also unaware of those things knew where he was, so there was no good reason NOT to head elsewhere for now. Yet given from what he had seen above, perhaps some help would be appreciated. In fact, one could say that it was 'owed' to him.

"You know," Eggman began, adjusting his spectacles. "It is rather fortunate that my Balkyry came to your rescue."

"If I hadn't been up there, your precious 'bird' would've been little more than for something those things could rip apart. Like all the others."

"And I suppose it was also fortunate that I just so happened to be willing to assist you in ridding those invaders of a rather sizable advantage." Shadow paid him no mind, already revving up his skates to go and trek back to the Iron Jungle, however long that would take. 'It's also rather fortunate, yet a bit strange," if it hadn't been for that statement, the hedgehog would've up and left. "That you seem convinced that I'm somehow the key to your little memory problem."

The flares of his jet shoes immediately died down. "Yet maybe you should be right to think that. After all, who's capsule did you suddenly wake up in, and who's insolent machine was there, keeping watch?" A flash of anger washed over Eggman's features. It angered him, even now, to have to bring attention to that defector E-robot. The second of his brilliant line to dare do such a thing! "Yes, it is all rather fortunate. Perhaps too fortunate. In fact, I think the better term for it is…convenient."

Convenient…he didn't wish to think of it. He outright didn't want to give it one ounce of consideration, but all those things being mentioned and lined up together…it was rather difficult to not give it at least some thought, Shadow found.

"Indeed, it is rather peculiar, isn't it?" Eggman questioned. "In fact, if it's any consolation to you, you very well wouldn't be here if it were not for me."

Wouldn't be here if not for…what? That was absurd-

'The Professor…done much…your memory…'

The Professor…it…it couldn't be. It…it made no sense! It couldn't be him! Besides, Doom, he called Eggman 'the Doctor', his 'descendent'! He couldn't have!

"True, I don't know what happened before I arrived, let alone how you got up there, yet I'll say that perhaps your lacking in a memory…or perhaps a memory bank." Eggman continued. "Is because I needed time to truly input what little I had."

"Input?"

"Yes, input. For you see, has it ever occurred to you that maybe all those elements, my chamber, my capsule, my robot, all of it is linked to me, and then back to you. And from what that agent had done, sneaking in there and releasing you, before your completion, it might've resulted in you being left in a, shall we say, incomplete state."

"You're suggesting that- "

"That you're resulting memory loss and all else is due to an early activation? Perhaps I am. Perhaps I kept you in there because you were so volatile, so experimental, the first in a new line. Perhaps," the floating device leaned in closer. "What you're looking for has been here the whole time."

Another long, perpetual period of quiet came over the area. Shadow looking to the Doctor, and said Doctor looking right back. Befuddlement back at satisfaction, the latter of the two presenting the other with a triumphant grin, hands clasped together as if truly signifying a perfectly executed plan.

"Funny." Indeed, and it was perfectly executed…wait, what? "No truly, it is rather amusing." Amusing? What was he- "I don't believe I asked for anything too demanding. And to an extent, it's the least demanding thing in the world, well, for you, perhaps, yet perhaps that's my fault for even allowing myself to think you'd fulfill your end, even if ever so slightly."

"What do you mean- "

"But no, you go and just create more trouble for yourself. You couldn't just have told me all I wanted to know, and for argument's sake, at least as much as YOU know, yet here you are attempting to sell me this jargon."

"You, you call the very man who made your existence possible- "

"And seeing you still are, and I don't really care to ramble on more than I must, I'll just leave it at this, Doctor." The black hedgehog held up his right arm, the pointer of his left hand stationed directly below his wrist, underneath his golden ring. "One of the things I remember for sure is that Omega or any other creation of yours are severely lacking a pulse."

Once again, there was silence, yet now, the tables were turned. Eggman was left speechless, mouth agape and concealed eyes wide. The shock was short lived, however, as it soon became apparent that his tactic to perhaps garner an ally against the invading creatures had, quite literally, unfolded right in front of him.

"Well…" was there anything to salvage? Any chance he could get it up and running again? Unlikely, yet he still needed time. The sounds from outside the base were increasing, the footage he was viewing from his current location presenting to him that perhaps it would've been better if Shadow had been the one to arrive at the Iron Jungle first. 'They'll be making their way in soon. But how do they know I'm here?!' "Well, that's another thing!" he spurted out. "Your systems weren't complete, so I had to install you with a…a series of tubes! Yes, tubes! For the oil and other fluids to flow through and travel to the other portions of the body! The sensation you're experiencing is just those fluids working their way through! You're such an experimental creation, I- "

This had gone on long enough and stopped being funny. The Doctor's words fell on deaf ears as the body said ears were attached had begun running off. Shadow's destination was still the Iron Jungle, no doubt about that. Even if the bogus 'you're an android' plan backfired right in the mad scientist's own face, the darkly furred hedgehog still couldn't deny that, ridiculous lie or not, Eggman was correct on more than a few things.

It was his chamber that Rouge found him, it was his robot that was stationed down there, and ultimately, it was his capsule that he was contained in. How long he had been trapped in there as the scientist watched was yet another thing he was unaware of. Regardless, it was the best lead he had so far. Perhaps, at least what the Doctor knew, assuming he did indeed have only so much to give him, could be found located in whatever files his systems held. Or perhaps he'd find nothing, as before.

Still, for the moment, while it had yet to garner the results his former 'collaborator' had presented (fragmented and unclear as even they were), it was the option Shadow was going with. The only option that, now, seemed to be the only certain one he had.

If anything, to simply gain something outside of 'him'.

'Come what may, you will be mine.'

 **Note: Yeah, I'm just going to come out and say I think the Shadow Android thing was stupid. Yes, it was an alternate path and it was just one of the endings made, yet still, even with how blissfully ignorant Sonic and co' can get at times, didn't Shadow seem to think that 'huh, Omega, it's occurred to be that your heart doesn't seem to be beating'. But Sonic's kind of always had stupid stuff in it, all things do (I love Mega Man, as evidenced by my other two stories here, yet there are a ton of things that are outright dumb). I hope I don't sound patronizing or arrogant in saying that.**

 **Please let me know if you see any errors I missed, what you'd maybe like to see in the future, and I hope to see you guys soon!**


	4. Catalyst of Convergence Part 4

**Note: Here it is! Part 4! We're getting close to getting this prologue done, and here's hoping that it hasn't been too slow of a journey for you all! I just want to get this thing pumped out and ready to show before I get into the real meat of the story. I do hope you understand why I'm doing this, as well as the direction it's going in.**

 **Anyhow, here's hoping you enjoy and that I interest you in more!**

 **Chapter 4: Catalyst of Convergence Part 4**

 **© of Sega/Sonic Team**

Given he was here now, aboard this far off, distant spacecraft, Shadow's trek back to the Iron Jungle wasn't exactly a trip worthwhile. In retrospect (he found himself using that phrase quite a bit now), he should've known better than to waste the energy, let alone believe that Eggman would've even been there.

Though given how when he arrived there, the steel walkway towards the main area was riddled with broken bits and pieces of various machines scattered about, it appeared that Doom made good on his promise of paying the Doctor a visit.

Ironic in a sense, given that then, Doom was the last person he was wishing to encounter at that point in time, yet here he was now, rushing down the empty, desolate corridors of the Ark, hunting for the horned being. And to a degree, it was still a prospect that Shadow was far from looking forward to.

Then again, he far from expected to find himself all the way up here. Again.

 **Iron Jungle**

Given how silent the area had been, save for the small crackling of exposed wires and cables releasing flares of electricity, Shadow found himself somewhat perturbed that amidst the setting of advanced technology amongst the all-consuming, natural world, he hadn't picked up the low hum from below. It was puzzling at first, yet upon hearing said hum begin to increase in volume, as well as feel a small shake from underneath him and the scattered leaves on the walkway scatter, the black hedgehog wasted no time in readying himself for whatever was supposedly coming for him now.

Oh, something had indeed come, yet the 'what' and 'who' of that something had surprised him even more.

A large, red ship of shorts steadily rose from underneath the walkway, four wings situated in an 'x' formation of sorts, two on each side. Given its coloring and embellishments of gold, the streaked hedgehog had at first suspected the ascending craft to belong to the Doctor. Yet as it rose further and further up, the sudden, contrasting hue of cerulean that met Shadow's eyes confirmed that his initial suspicions were greatly mistaken.

"It's been awhile, huh?" Sonic greeted from atop the ship, standing in the small space between the wings and hands resting on his hips, as if standing atop of a large aircraft was the most natural, leisurely thing in the world. And from that toothy grin, oozing with his usual brand of confidence, the blue speedster was expecting something from Shadow in return. "Oh, what?" though upon not receiving it, said grin faded. "No 'hello', 'heya', not even a 'oh God, you again'?"

Frankly, all those things were running through Shadow's mind at that moment, the general annoyance towards the chipper individual more than present, yet, despite himself, Shadow found that there was quite a good deal of weight taken off his person. It was probably due to the fact the blue rodent had been brought up recently by his self-appointment nemesis that Shadow found himself having such reservations towards him, yet since Westopolis, suffice to say, the ebony Lifeform found himself pondering as to what had even happened to Sonic since then. Whether he had been caught in the crimson wave of his released Chaos Blast, or perhaps had managed to make a getaway before said wave even touched him. And whichever the case, what then?

Though such a thing was ridiculous to ponder over, Shadow told himself. The proof was right in front of him that the blue pest was fine. He knew that all along, there was nothing to concern himself over. Nothing to worry over.

'I thought you exploded in that capsule…'

"Either way," Sonic began again, Shadow's attention being drawn back to the present. "What are you doing here for? Not much here besides a bunch of torn up robots."

That was it? That was all he had to say? Nothing of anything that occurred prior? "Is he here?" Shadow decided to ask, the subject not exactly one he knew how to bring up either.

Sonic appeared as if he were contemplating what had just been asked of him, yet the visual aid of several Badniks torn asunder all around had him guess what his darker counterpart was inquiring about. "If you mean Egghead, then no. Guy hightailed it out of here just a bit before we arrived."

So, his trip here had essentially been for nothing. Lovely. Yet Shadow reviewed what Sonic had just told him. "We?"

"Yeah 'we'." The Fastest Thing Alive stated, gesturing below him. "Who do you think is flying this thing?" as if registering he was being observed, the two-tailed fox stationed inside the cockpit gave a small wave towards Shadow, yet that was all, as one small motion of his arm was all he gave. "Anyway, believe it or not, I'm actually kind of glad to see you in one piece." Sonic continued. "I don't suppose you've heard anything about the upcoming 'Fire in the Sky', have you?"

Fire in the Sky…yes, he had heard of that before. Yet not but a day or so ago did it really hold any prevalence for him at all.

"Well, it's just a hunch, but given these guys didn't show up until this 'Black Comet' did, I'd say that maybe the two have a little something of a connection, wouldn't you?" Shadow didn't answer, yet his expression was more than answer enough. "And from what Knuckles has heard from the Chaotix, they're now trying to get ahold of the Ark."

Whatever words that came from Sonic's lips next had fallen on deaf ears, as if the very mentioning of 'ark' had generated some sort of spontaneous reaction in Shadow to immediately hop onto the top of the ship, maneuvering his way towards where the blue hedgehog was standing until both were only mere inches away from each other.

"Take me there." He simply stated, though his speech wasn't aggressive. Firm and direct, yes, yet it was delivered in the manner one would deliver a plan of action.

Sonic himself, from what Shadow observed, didn't seem the least bit surprised by such a request. If anything, it had been something he was counting on. "Then I guess we'd better get off and let Tails open up. It' going to be a bit of a bumpy ride."

 **Space Colony Ark**

He had been so focused, so immediately drawn by the fact that they were going there, that it was only when he had come across the red echidna in the ship did Shadow even realize what he had just agreed to. Knuckles, thankfully (not that he couldn't handle him, he told himself), had resigned to Angel Island to keep a watchful eye on the Master Emerald. Given the aliens' desire to acquire the Chaos Emeralds, the potential of needing the one that essentially 'held dibs' over them all (at least, that's how Sonic explained it) had become more prevalent, thus the echidna returned to his guarding duty. Good riddance, Shadow thought. It had been far from a cakewalk since he arrived, the last thing he needed was the hothead leering over him as if he were some criminal.

Still, while it couldn't have been confirmed, he had his own suspicions the reason they had even come was because their previously functioning air fortress was out of commission. And to a degree, they had him to thank for that, in both helping it rise and fall.

Well, all the same, as he was now responding to those efforts. And while he couldn't exactly call said mission a success yet, at the very least, he had two Chaos Emeralds in his possession and found that blasted 'computer room'.

The fact they were even here was surprising enough to Shadow, let alone the fact that GUN had even tasked them with gaining access to the Ark's files. Of course, at this point, the hedgehog had little care for GUN or what they did. The further away he was from them, the better. And perhaps they told held such a sentiment, even if it was gained by means he himself didn't exactly envision.

Still though, with him being here now, in these halls, rushing down these empty corridors…it was truly a wonder as to why he hadn't come here in the first place.

True, Shadow acknowledged, at the time, his own mind wasn't exactly 'together' regarding this place, and it wasn't as if he would 'magically' remember every single detail the moment he stepped aboard (let alone how to access the ship's files). Yet at the same time, everything that was lost to him, and what little he knew, it all connected here.

Him to the Ark, the Ark to Maria.

And Maria…to 'him'?

 **Above the Earth, inside the Tornado X-Shuttle**

The journey, perhaps the final journey of this ordeal, was beginning, and yet despite this, Shadow found himself unable to draw any sense of satisfaction from that.

"Okay, the transition through the atmosphere was a little bumpy, but we should be at the Ark in no time at all!" the young pilot announced, maneuvering the shuttle in the ship's direction according to his radar, which, as the ship itself appeared at the time, was little more than a far-off star, even further off than the moon. Still, it circled and obeyed the gravitational pull of the blue, life preserving planet, said planet forever cemented in the expansive looking glass for his eyes to gaze down at.

It was so small, such a small, tiny thing, really. True, the location wasn't exactly small, the universe outside of Earth, yet all it took for Shadow to realize that such a sight was one he had known before was simply looking out the window. For the briefest of seconds, and it wasn't an action he had even intended, simply his eyes catching the contrasting blue amidst the dark, encompassing abyss surrounding it. Yet that was all, it seemed, he needed. Blue…large, massive, and out of his reach. Yet ever present, and perhaps, one day, ever welcoming.

Ever welcoming…what an odd thought.

Even odder was the sudden emergence of 'her' voice yet again in his mind. 'Thirty-three-thousand, and one hundred.' Maria told him, unable to attach her face to the voice, let alone remember where he was, yet still, she was speaking of that place. That planet. 'Thirty-three-thousand, and one hundred types of fish are living THERE. In THAT water.' She seemed to speak in the same manner as when she had relayed to him all about the 'wonders' of photosynthesis and however many types of trees there were whilst he was encased in that pod. It was nothing short of absolutely astounding to her. 'And that's not all! There's still new species being discovered! Even now! Some of them even Grandfather thought were extinct!' It was completely amazing to her, her young voice filled to the brim with awe…and a sense of longing. 'I want to go in there. Dive down, see them. See ALL of them. Maybe I'll discover some new ones myself. Maybe I'll name one after you!'

'So, you're saying I look like a fish?' that was his voice now.

'No.' she responded. 'Not unless you do this!' he still couldn't visualize her, yet the sensation of her warm hands against the sides of his muzzle came to him, Shadow finding his own hands mimicking the same action. Yes…she pressed on his cheeks, just like this, until his lips came to resemble a puckering motion, just like a fish.

He found a hot flush coming to his cheeks upon realizing what he was even doing, immediately drawing his hands away. Though from the sound of her laughter echoing in his mind, she had apparently found that it looked hilarious.

"Not a bad view, huh?" the closeness and general volume immediately alerted Shadow that this voice belonged to this current reality, the chortles of the young blonde fading away and coming to be replaced with that of the blue hedgehog speaking to him now. Sonic drew closer to the window, the two of them now gazing outwardly at the azure, spinning sphere below them. "I said, not a bad view, huh?" the younger, and clearly more chipper of the two repeated, said repetition being an indication that he was attempting to make conversation.

Shadow didn't respond. Whether it be due to the abruptness of his entrance or the simple, and perhaps most likely option, that he simply held nothing of value (in his mind) to say in return, so he resigned himself to saying nothing, all the same, a wave of silence fell in between the two hedgehogs as both fixed their eyes on the Earth.

"I mean, it's not my first time seeing it like this." Sonic began, having seemingly decided that he would be speaking, regardless of any (or lack of) input his company would give him. "Around the time me and Tails met, Eggman had decided to try and take things up in space. Course the Earth looked WAY bigger from that angle." Oh goodness, how long ago HAD that been? Not too long, though Sonic could distinctly remember he was a good few inches shorter then, and his quills hadn't grown out as much yet. Still, it was one of his favorite times to reminisce on, and now, it had become one of the most poignant. "Though, I guess another major one was when you and I- "

"That's it?"

Sonic paused, Shadow's interruption puzzling him. "What's it?"

"That's all you can talk about? How supposedly great of a view it is from here?" whether it was or not, Shadow wasn't concerned with that now (even if he found himself leaning towards the former). "There's absolutely NOTHING else that you're usually loud mouth wants to address? Not even HINT at?"

"…you're…shoes got a little bit of mud on- "

"That wave of energy that sent how many of those GUN grunts flying? That wave, of which, YOU were present for?"

His widening, green eyes was more than enough of an indicator that he didn't need what Shadow was referring to explained, yet how it was delivered was what produced such a reaction. The darker hedgehog, at first, was equally befuddled, yet mostly at the sudden bout of silence that fell over Sonic, something that, frankly, he had come to believe was a rare enough sight on its own.

It didn't take long, however, for the blue hedgehog to contemplate what had just been said to him, and whilst Shadow didn't exactly like the coy expression coming to his features, at the very least, it was something recognizable. "If I didn't know any better," Sonic said, clearly humored. "I would say that you sound like you were worried about little ol' me."

"And you don't know any better." Shadow instantly retorted. "There was no worry to begin with. I knew you were fine."

"If you knew, then why'd you look so shocked to see me back there?"

"I was far from expecting some giant, red aircraft to come flying out of nowhere below me." The black Ultimate Lifeform insisted, giving more than enough to indicate that he wanted Sonic to drop the subject. "Forget it," he finally snapped, that darned pest's coy eyes nearly driving him over the edge. "I should've known better than to expect something of value out of you."

His speech was sharp and direct, yet it still seemed to not be enough of a detriment for his lighter hued company. "Thank you kindly for your consideration, Shads."

Shadow huffed. "Give it to someone who wants it. Besides, if it isn't me that bests you, that'll be the main loss."

"As always, your compassion, and caring nature knows no bounds."

"Quiet, you."

Thankfully, at least from Shadow's perspective, silence fell in between the two again, and he found that despite his current location, the environment around him and all else seemed to fade away, the low hum of the shuttle as it continued its journey only serving to further disconnect him from the present reality. All that existed was him and that planet…and the thick glass that kept the oxygen secured inside, and him away from the revolving, fertile rock that he had once…coveted?

'Are you going to stare out that window all day- '

"…Shadow?"

Again, her voice, Maria's voice, had slipped back from whatever crevice of his mind it emerged from, his ears also alerting him that the present world had need of his attention.

"Hey, you still in there?" Sonic questioned, waving his hand in front of the darker hedgehog's face to snapping his fingers as if to awaken him from some self-induced hypnosis. "You going to stare out there all day?"

All day, they had been here barely even an hour! Patience wasn't exactly a virtue he had mastered himself, yet still, the blue hedgehog had interrupted something important. Something he could clearly make an exception for. Why the simple act of staring down at the Earth bore any importance, he wasn't entirely sure, yet still, there was no mistaking that the act was something that allowed for things to begin to 'click'. Not at as rapid a pace as, well, the method Black Doom had used to 'show' him things, yet comparing the two, it was clear that Shadow would stand in front of this window for hours if he could've, if not just for something, anything to come up. To hear her voice again, and to keep away from that horned being's touch.

Though as time passed, he found that, to his dismay, the incident of where the blonde girl had pushed his cheeks together was all he could remember. There was more, he knew it. There HAD to be, this angle he was viewing the Earth was an angle he had looked from many, many times. Yet the longer the midnight black hedgehog stared outwards, a sphere of blue, green, and white amidst a darkened, starlit abyss, Shadow simply found his head beginning to throb in dull pain. He hated to do it, yet even in the brief time he had been 'awake' from that time in that capsule deep within the Doctor's fortress, he knew that whenever said sensation began to make itself known, he would have to allow himself some reprieve.

Raising a gloved hand to his temple to massage away the incoming ache, Shadow caught Sonic observing him with puzzled, curious eyes. And whilst his turning away from his gaze was his way of indicating he wasn't wishing to be studied now, the curiosity in those peridot orbs seemed to transition to Shadow's own ruby ones. Indeed, before the pest had gone and turned the whole thing into a jab at him and his usual persona being momentarily broken, the question as to why the blue hedgehog seemed so nonchalant of what had occurred before still bothered him.

"How?"

Sonic's ears twitched, almost not believing that after what seemed to be forever (though anything past a few minutes always fell into being classified as 'forever'), Shadow was once again speaking. Even more, that he was the one initiating a conversation. "How what?" he asked back.

"The Chaos Blast- "

"That's what it's called?" Sonic questioned, quirking one brow. "You pick it up somewhere recently, or have you always known how to do that? Cause all I know is I've never seen you do something like that."

'Neither have I.' Shadow considered answering, yet frankly, Doom was the last individual he wished to have in mind now. "When I…" he paused, biting his lip, reconsidering his words. "When it emitted from me, where did you go?" Not the most accurate depiction of events, yet still, it wasn't as if said release was intentional. "Self-proclaimed or no, I find it hard to believe you're THAT fast."

It took a moment or two for Sonic to understand what Shadow was getting at, yet, just as Shadow expected (though not entirely liked), the blue speedster answered in that same, nonchalant, 'no problem' tone of his. "Well, I'm happy to say you're wrong about that, Shads." Sonic proclaimed, dusting off his knuckles on his chest, as if having accomplished some grand feat. "I AM that fast. Though I'll admit, that little blast of yours managed to catch me off guard for a bit. Not long enough, but a decent effort."

"I asked you a question, not to hear about your delusions of grandeur."

"You're one to talk, Mr. 'Ultimate Lifeform'." A low growl emitted from the darker hedgehog. "But yeah, while I'll admit, it was kind of a 'whoa!' moment, the most it managed to do was just singe a few hairs on my tail." There were the ends of a few quills that got the same treatment; yet given said quills had promptly fallen out by now, Sonic didn't feel any need to mention it, especially given whom he was just admitting this to.

Besides, not long after his escape, he had to slip in between a few buildings in case it was another one of those creatures. Though instead of getting the advantage of surprise, Sonic distinctly remembered seeing a far smaller flash of black pass by his vision. He had wished to go after him, even if at that time, it was just to find out what the heck had happened, yet the realization of several other humans being present when said wave of Chaos Energy was projected. It took far longer than usual for the blue speedster to decide on which direction to even go, yet by the time he had rushed up to see the scattered, but still living soldiers and back, Shadow was nowhere to be found.

"What has he told you?" the other hedgehog's voice piped up again.

"You've got to be a little more specific than that, buddy."

"The echidna. You know where he is now, so…" Shadow stopped himself, debilitating whether or not he even wished to continue. "He must've told you something."

"Ah. THAT." Sonic's response was more than enough to indicate it hadn't been anything positive. "Well…honestly, I don't know what to think." A hand reached up to rub the back of his head. "I mean, yeah, Knuckles told me what happened, but…well, he kind of, sort of has a history of 'jumping the gun' on things, if you catch my drift."

"He wasn't lying."

"Oh no, I don't doubt that. Knuckles is a lot of things, but he's no liar." He spoke that as if said 'things' were a list of traits the blue hedgehog had observed and noted to remind the echidna of in the future, if not to simply get some sort of rise out of him. "But sometimes he doesn't get the whole story."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "You say that as if you're not too sure of that yourself."

"Hey, he's getting better though." Sonic answered, defending the guardian. 'Last time I got on his bad side, he sent me, and Tails over God knows how many bridges with those stupid switches.' All the same, even after all this time, it seemed when it came to some people (or rather, walking, talking Mobians), some habits were hard to break, the hedgehog he was currently speaking to be no exception. "So, seeing as he's not here, but you are, suppose you tell me what went down at that old temple."

He attempted to not let it be shown, the same, steely expression of unwavering dominance over his emotions and all else eased out (for the most part) all forms of creases and traces of feeling. Still, it was only for the most part, for even though this face was one Shadow had held and mastered well, Sonic's inquiry had created a horribly uncomfortable chill that methodically trailed its way up his spine.

Relaying what had occurred wasn't the problem…well, it was, and it wasn't. He'd simply deliver what he deemed to be necessary and get to the point, details that he saw as either trivial (or perhaps too personal), he'd skip over. The factor Shadow was concerned over was the 'how'. Because the most likely outcome was that the answer he would see fit to deliver wouldn't be satisfactory for the blue hedgehog. He cared not for his satisfaction, let alone what that brutish echidna thought of him now. Yet all the same, he wished to make one thing clear.

"What did he tell you?" Shadow questioned Sonic again, this time however, adding "How much? Verbatim, what did he say?"

"Verbatim? Yeah, I'm not exactly good when it comes to 'verbatim." Translation: he wasn't paying attention. "But the gist of it was that he found you there passed out, those aliens were there, you two beat up a few of them, and that there were these weird stones that seemed to react whenever they were touched." Surely Knuckles didn't leave out the detail that they reacted only a 'specific' touch, yet given Sonic's shifting eyes, it seemed he decided to reserve that for later. "Then you found one that hadn't been activated. And then you started acting all weird, you didn't respond to anything and…well, the place had to rise from the ground somehow."

Shadow shut his eyes, brow creasing. 'Somehow…'

"But then somebody went and had it crash down back to Earth again." Sonic continued. "And while not saying I couldn't do it, me and Tails were a little busy with Eggman's bots down in Circus Park. Something about stealing all the rings in the place for another one of his half-brained schemes. Course after that, we heard news he was in the Iron Jungle, and while the fatso left before we could make it, that's when Tails noticed you walking around from the control center's cameras."

They had been there for that long? But from what he had seen, the Black Arms-

"I think those aliens were looking for the 'good' Doctor too. Guess it's kind of lucky he escaped." To where, Sonic was unsure. God only knew how many bases and fortresses that guy had littered over the place. "But seeing as you're here with us, going to fight those guys, I take it you're not the biggest fan of them either."

Shadow didn't respond, didn't have to. His silence, along with the traces of anger emerging on his features answer enough.

"And given that, along with that temple having to have come down somehow, I don't think Knuckles has got anything to worry over."

Essentially, what he was trying to say was that he trusted Shadow enough to come along. Whether it be out of him simply not being there to witness what had occurred, or out of some actual, genuine belief in the black hedgehog, Shadow found himself leaning more towards the former than the latter. The latter…frankly, it made no sense to him. Given that Knuckles was currently absent and unable to accompany them, he figured that could've been another reason, Sonic simply needing a replacement of sorts in case things got too rough. What other reason would he have to even approach him after all of this? Not that Shadow was too affected by whatever Sonic potentially thought of him, no, of course not. Not at all. Yet if his being allowed on this trip (not that he would've taken 'no' for an answer, given those creatures had much to pay for) was simply based on the fact Sonic trusted him despite nearly being blasted away and the temple of Glyphic Canyon rising, both of which were Shadow's own fault (to a degree), then…well then, he didn't have that great a sense of judgement.

And in that moment, perhaps Shadow didn't either, as he hadn't even bothered to simply allow it to be a thought in his mind, the statement unconsciously slipping out from his lips. "…it wasn't intentional." And by the time he realized what he had done, it was too late.

As if fate wished to add yet ANOTHER link in his recently developed chain of bad luck, Sonic's ears seemed to pick this statement up as well. "What?" he questioned, Shadow immediately taking to acting as if nothing had come from him. "You didn't just suddenly become mute, I heard you say something." He crossed his arms, form becoming more stiff and rigid. "And I don't know how much longer we've got for this trip, so- "

"It wasn't intentional." His pride was mentally berating him for giving in to the blue hedgehog's demands so easily, yet all of this was becoming just a bit too much for him to process now. At least with (albeit, rather intrusive) company. "That's all there is to it."

"You're not making sense. What are, hey. Hey, come on! Don't leave me hanging!"

Sonic had continued, going into how 'uncool' it was that the striped hedgehog was simply leaving him in the middle of him asking a question, yet now, Shadow wished for nothing more than to be free from hearing the pest's voice. It was somewhat ironic, if not outright contradictory. Here both were going to where those creatures were sighted and currently doing who knew what sort of activity (though Shadow had his own theories), yet his going there was due to seeking and in turn, delivering his own retribution against them all. Especially Black Doom. Yet frankly, now, anything prior wasn't something he wished to dwell on, let alone analyze on anything other than acknowledging it on a surface level. Not right now at least. He was starving off the inevitable, he didn't need to be told such, yet if he allowed himself to dwell upon what had occurred previously, the interactions between him and the horned being that had come to him during the first wave of Arms spawn upon Westpolis…no. He couldn't allow doubt to seep in. Not now, especially not now.

'You will be mine.'

'No.' Shadow told himself, as if responding to what was just a mere recitation of what the invading commander had told him. 'The Emeralds you stole from me will be mine. All of them…I'll go and collect them all myself. And then…' and then… 'You'll be subject to me. Everything you've been keeping and taunting me with…that'll be mine.' Yes, just consider that, Shadow told himself. Think of that, of all that he would do and gain back from what he was inching closer and closer to. 'It'll be mine. Not yours, mine.'

He had essentially gone to the other side of the shuttle, yet it was right back where he was before: staring out of a window into the blackness of what could've been an eternal night. Yet instead of a planet of blue and green meeting and gaining his focus with a hypnotic, unwavering draw, what had met Shadow's vision seemed to pale in comparison to the far smaller space colony trapped in the perpetual cycle of revolving around said planet.

The Ark...

Why he went to the Iron Jungle, let alone after the Doctor…honestly, he didn't know. The aliens…why did their appearance, let alone Doom's appearance hold such a hold on him? Better yet, why was it only NOW did they come?

What he had been seeking was within the Ark, he was sure of it. And more importantly, that Black Comet that was coming.

Going there, he had recalled something. He…he had been there before. Both he and Sonic…they…they did something. Something that nearly killed him. Yet the sensation he remembered when it came up was not of fear, but satisfaction. Like he somehow…'had' to. Had to, wanted to…fall.

 **Space Colony Ark**

Fall…he wanted to fall…fall from…

It was just that detail he was missing. Just that one LAST detail! What was it?!

Well, nevertheless, he was well on his way to finding it soon. It all occurred here.

The hallways in where he saw her panicked, terrified face as both ran for their…or rather, HER life. Blue eyes wide and only breaking their intense gaze to glance down at him. Yet still, in those eyes…Shadow realized that there was more to them than simple panic from those hunting them. Hunting him. Or maybe…maybe they were hunting her as well, seeking out everyone that could've been aboard, as before he had found himself entangled in Vector's search for the elusive 'computer room', it was revealed to him that she was indeed, not the only one that had perhaps been sent on a terrified rush for survival.

'My parents…they worked alongside Dr. Robotnik here.'

Either way, those eyes of hers, Maria, it was brief, he not even realizing it until now. Even in his unwanted and unwelcome emergences of this previously buried portion of his fractured subconscious, Shadow saw nothing but a terrified child running and presumably being dragged along by himself. No, she was thinking. As if, somehow, she knew that it was more likely than not that for one of them, there would be no hope that they'd get out alive.

'Maria…she was the only friend I ever had.'

When he had arrived at this place, that little 'race' the blue pest proposed had essentially been derailed before it even started. And instead of them being neck and neck with each other as they sped down whatever set walkway or path before them, that far from being consistent.

While he hadn't expected the ship to be in top condition, Shadow found himself taken aback by just how pristine and clean the interior of the ship had been. The exterior of the Ark, while seemingly in standard condition, almost frozen in time, when the shuttle docked itself inside the ship, the lack of oxygen outside no longer being of concern, both hedgehogs found themselves met with the same image inside. The place was near spotless, metallic walls and tiled flooring shining from the perfectly working lights above.

Tails rushed out from the shuttle, a small device clenched in his hand, round and silver, declaring that his 'radar' was picking up energy that matched that of the Chaos Emeralds. Suffice to say, it didn't take either hedgehog long to get a move on. In fact, it was at that moment in time Sonic had decided to propose something of a competition between the two of them. A race of sorts to see who'd get to it first. Thus, the both were off, though Tails' voice still called out to them, and it would only be later when Shadow would realize what he was still shouting at them to come back for.

'This brings back memories, don't it, Shadow?'

At first, as it seemed to be all throughout this ordeal, Shadow had little to no idea what Sonic was talking about, let alone what he was even referring to. Yet as they continued onward, some 'clicked' yet again. The sensation of his legs moving forward, jet shoes propelling him in a fashion in where he'd gain just a tiny bit of distance ahead of the other speedster, then he'd fall just a tiny bit behind. The flares of his shoes working harder in keeping him essentially neck and neck with his running partner, his rival, no, his opponent. Sonic's momentum was, for the most part, consistent and generally unchanging, his form of head forward and legs continuously moving at a rapid pace. While yes, he preferred and found his method better, observing the blue blur next to him, to his dismay, he found that there was indeed some forethought and dare he say, consideration put into the way he sped along.

Consistency vs Grace, Rapid movement vs Well timed motions. Indeed…Shadow found the familiarity that had come to Sonic dawning on himself as well.

Of course, it wasn't long before both hedgehogs found themselves face to face with nothing short of immediately welcomed by a hoard of the black creatures seemingly awaiting their arrival.

How they were able to…well, honestly, Shadow had more than a hunch on how they were able to gain knowledge on where they had landed, yet that brought forth everything else that had transpired between himself and their 'parent', of which would've surely proved to be more than a little distracting. Sonic and Shadow, of course, took to clearing out this man-made (or perhaps alien-made) blockade, yet surprisingly enough, Shadow found this encounter to be somewhat…off-putting.

He remembered that Sonic too, albeit after he decided to give one of them a nice kick square in its rounded, small jaw (assuming from whatever had come from that winged one's 'mouth', it even had a jaw), the blue hedgehog's nose also began to wrinkle and twitch. And once it had been noticed, neither of them seemed to be able to banish it from their minds, even if each of them had put up a stalwart, unaffected mask to dissuade the other from mentioning it. Besides, adrenaline did its work in suppressing the sense of smell during not only that skirmish, yet the others that followed not long after as they continued their little 'race' for the Emerald.

Even now, the back of Shadow's throat felt somewhat strange, the foul odor that emitted from those creatures, or rather, their 'mouths', containing elements both foreign and familiar to both he and Sonic. Rust. A strange comparison, yes, yet that was the first thing that came to his mind. Rust, metal, yet also wet. Rust, metal, wet, and…red? Yes, red. Red…red on her blue dress. Trailing down her chin, tears welling up in her eyes as she crawled on the floor.

Amidst that smell, however, there was another, he realized. It wasn't as strong, somewhat mixed in with the rusty, wet smell. Oddly enough, given what his mind conjured up from it, Shadow was somewhat befuddled that it hadn't been the stronger of the two, and until the image of the red liquid seep into the fabric of her dress had forced itself upon him, it had been the stronger of the two for a brief time. The main, perhaps most accurate term the striped Ultimate Lifeform could use was sharp. Sharp and piercing, a harsh chemical or acid mixed in with fresh bile. The two odors had been intertwined with each other, though if the former was indeed what he believed it to be…where did it, or rather, who did it come from?

As if it was a repeat of the very beginning of this, the creatures began to grow more and more numerous and aggressive, the two hedgehogs found themselves separated, neither able to see where the other was forced to go, or even more, just how many of the Arms had taken to following. It continued for a time like this, Shadow having resigned himself to search for the Emerald alone (as what else was there he could do), all the while beating back the incoming aliens that seemed insistent on impeding his progress. It was only when he found out the reason as to why did he find himself unable to ignore Black Doom for much longer.

 **Sometime Earlier, Southern End of the Ark**

It's once brutish, wide swings of its strong, built arms and sharpened claws steadily became little more than frenzied grabs and scratching at its aggressor, and before it could even think of making at least just one, last attempt at getting the better of the smaller creature, the darkly colored hedgehog slammed himself directly into the Arms' roundish, slightly elongated head.

Uncurling himself and landing on the metallic floor below, Shadow searched the small, enclosed space he had been forced to combat the black aliens in, most of which were scattered and lying motionless around him. Whether truly dead or simply unconscious, he knew not entirely, yet the beating he provided for them would be more than enough to keep them down for a minute or two, if any of them were indeed still breathing.

Given the lack of an Emerald and the access to a slew of skills he could harness from the stone, he had to make do with the environment around him: smashed pipes in the walls and ventilation systems along the ceiling had been crushed, those that had been were mostly from the larger creatures literally grabbing and throwing him up against the ceiling. Thus, he had get 'creative', and from observing the broken in doors and broken glass that had cracked and echoed throughout the small corridor as he went forward, the hedgehog had to keep himself restrained should he happen across any windows.

He didn't bother staying to try and get through this mob of Arms spawn just to have his prize sucked out into the fathomless depths of space outside.

Ironic that it now seemed to be nowhere in sight, as the moment he had seen it, a stone projecting a seemingly continuous glow of white clutched tightly in the palm of one of the aliens located in the back of the group, that's when the others really seemed to step up their game and, well, the dented ceiling and broken glass shards all around him practically spelt out what happened. Yet now, finally, after all of this, he could finally gain back what was his.

Speeding down the hallway, Shadow's ears detected the collective sounds of pounding against the floor, and as they steadily drew closer and closer to him, he also took notice of the sound of old machinery hitching and being activated, gears winding and the device taking a moment to function after such a lengthy period of being unused. And if he hadn't seen the thing when he passed it by, the creature's plan would've been a for sure success as with the incoming second wave, there would've been no way he could've gotten to the alien in time, his own professed speed notwithstanding.

Briefly had he seen it before, it appearing to be no different than the several others that he had essentially beaten to unconsciousness (or near death at the very least), yet from the slowly dissipating space of a lowering door, the hedgehog's red eyes caught immediate sight of it all on its lonesome, the rarity of such immediately drawing attention. Though that wasn't what had caused Shadow to abandon his developing tactics in dealing with the oncoming group surely ready for a second round.

Skidding across the floor and forcing himself to a rather ungraceful stop, the streaked Lifeform backtracked the way he had just come, and with just enough space between the door and floor for him to squeeze through. Yet it was growing smaller quickly, and the maneuver had to implemented correctly, lest he lose something from the door's crushing weight.

It wasn't only the pounding, now their hissing clicks and gurgles reverberated off the tight space's walls, and if that wasn't enough motivation for Shadow, the looming, dark mass that danced and ran along the walls further cemented what would come if he failed to make it.

…

'He is coming. Find him and bring him to me. This will not continue any further.'

The command of its parent resonated within its mind, the very order that had brought it and its fellow siblings from continuing to savor the fruits of a task they had successfully accomplished not long prior, the flavor of their recently 'dealt with' opponents being one of the best things it had savored in quite some time. A far better, more rich species than the Blodex, this planet's inhabitants seemed to be. The stone that they had been holding in their possession paled in comparison, yet ultimately, it was Breeder's will they acquire it before being allowed to indulge in any sort.

Yet, of course, it appeared that even that, one of the most delectable meals it had the privilege to partake in wouldn't last forever, as when it seemed the creature and those around it were halfway finished, the concealed, inner components of their mouths still slick and wet with fluids, both their own and their foods', Black Doom had contacted them yet again with urgent news.

The two, pupil-less eyes of yellow studied the shimmering diamond-cut stone in its three-digited palm, its rough, calloused skin contrasting greatly with the Emerald's smooth, almost unnaturally perfect surface. It wasn't a clear surface, not entirely, as the glow prevented a perfect replication, yet the Arms Soldier couldn't help but be somewhat puzzled and amused at the distorted reflection that had shone in the gem's features. Indeed, Breeder was correct. These things truly were a treasure. His and its treasure. All its race's treasure to use and harness against the denizens of that floating ball of dirt below this miniscule colony.

Just one more of these, and an even greater weapon aboard this very ship would be at its parent's whim, ready and able to begin some, as Doom had put it, 'clearing out' of some of the unnecessary establishments on the planet's surface. The Soldier had seen no reason to simply stop there. If its experience in Westpolis (it believed it to be called, according to its parent) were anything to go by, the sooner that the Earth's surface was rid of all those towering structures of stone and metal, the better. What use, let alone, what reason did these creatures even construct those for anyway? There was plenty, if not more room for all of them on naturally formed ground. Its own home had not changed in any way for the last century or two, and it held no complaints in its housing.

'When the last of their defenses are destroyed, then with the remaining Emeralds, only then, my children, will you be free to fully savor what this distant rock provides for us all.'

The spawn's hand clasped onto its iridescent prize firmly, its sharpened, curved claws adapt and perfect for the acts of ripping and tearing delicately tracing the pointed ends on the stone's surface.

'Then…oh, THEN, my children, that will be quite a jubilee indeed…one that has been LONG overdue…'

The tactic they had all shared and developed amongst themselves and directed by Doom was simple, yet given their numbers, it held a fair chance of success. Separate the hedgehog that bore likeness to themselves, corner and subdue him, and when he had been beaten down to where he surely wouldn't be able to struggle much against their collective power anymore, he would be delivered directly to their parent. Not the most intricate of tactics, no, yet it was simple enough for it and its siblings to grasp. And if Breeder assured them that their success was in numbers and in what he said, then it must've been so.

Yet apparently the hedgehog soon lost interest in dealing with them all the moment it caught sight of the Emerald it held in its grasp. And given from its sole presence in this area of the ship, even having to deal with the others wasn't much of a consequence to him. Still, it'd be soon now. The presence of its siblings, another wave sent to assist the few that were potentially left could be felt, and unless the hedgehog managed to somehow smash his way through the door, there would be little chance he could-

WHOOSH!

Oh. Breeder was right, he WAS indeed fast.

Skidding in and essentially sliding on his back, the smaller, yet familiar target had somehow managed to not only realize that the Soldier was sealing itself up in a safer area, as directed by Breeder himself, yet also managed to slide in the small amount of space with only a few quills or so being lost to the crushing weight of the old, scarcely used door.

Picking himself up and getting right back on his feet, the small echo of the only entrance/exit locking in place behind him traveling throughout the small area, Shadow immediately centered his red eyes on the white gemstone the creature held in its possession. And the creature in turn, centered is eyes right back onto him. If there was anything positive he had to say about the lot of them (key word being 'had', and that wouldn't have made things any easier), the black blur could at least attest that they were at least honest and direct. Far less than he could say for their oh-so-beloved parent.

A fierce pounding against the surface of the door soon came to be heard, one pair of beating, clenched fists soon growing into two, then four or five, to where Shadow couldn't even estimate how many were there due to collective clamor. He didn't have much time, the door wouldn't hold out forever, and frankly, he had been forced to waste enough time putting up with all these mongrels already!

Surprisingly enough, the extraterrestrial didn't simply lunge itself at the smaller hedgehog, though that far from brought down his guard. If anything, while puzzled, his curiosity was peaked. Had these lumbering beings potentially been more intelligent that he had given them credit for? Given what occurred next had Shadow begin to question his initial sentiments to a degree.

Instead of the suspected lunging, slashing, or anything other action that involved the creature physically coming at him, what the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes caught in those few moments of unease and trepidation had been overcome by the suddenness of a piercing, flashing light that, while not enough to blind him, the recognition of what it was had brought forth with it only more trouble for the hedgehog seemingly cursed with a particular streak of less than desirable luck.

The once present Arms spawn had vanished, leaving nothing but an empty room, yet given from the ongoing blows against the door's surface outside, Shadow didn't allow the possibility of it having left him come to be considered just yet. Granted, while he didn't entirely expect the creature to utilize the powers of the Chaos Emerald, if not just from what he had observed of their behavior before of being much fonder of close contact brawling, he remembered then what Black Doom, the 'parent' of these creatures had even come to him for in the first place. Yes, while they had attempted to outright take the first Emerald he came across away (and that turned out SO well for him), he hadn't suspected these creatures seemingly fueled on little more than pure instinct and Doom's will (assumedly) had anything outside of that.

SCREECH!

Then again, if there was something outside of those two factors, it wasn't one that held much sway over the others. As soon as it had disappeared, the dark-skinned creature reappeared before him, Shadow somewhat taken aback by the closeness of its incoming claws. Still, he found that the being had lapsed back into the typical set of behavior exhibited by the rest of its kind thus far. Large, three-digited hands reached forward and slashed or clenched themselves into fists and thrust in the smaller hedgehog's direction, all of which were dodged thanks to the alien's nimbler target. This short bout of blows meeting air where Shadow had once been being short lived as Shadow himself had more interest in gaining the precious stone in its grasp than providing the dumb animal with a sparring partner. If it wasn't going to utilize what the Emerald could provide it with, then even more reason to put an end to this time-wasting game.

The pounding on the room's entrance became more and more persistent.

A gloved hand shot towards the white jewel, grasping it and yanking it towards himself, yet Shadow found himself thrust into a tug-of-war with the larger alien, five fingers against three, those three in turn equipped with claws that, had the Emerald's surface been that of a simple, ordinary stone, would've surely scrapped and ruined its perfectly smooth coat. Of course, these claws were effective in other ways, as while the grappling between who would gain ownership of the small yet highly coveted treasure, the hedgehog found his small chest suddenly plagued with the overbearing sensation of pressure as his opponent had reached forward and placed its spare hand directly on that spot. And if that wasn't enough, the fingers attached to that hand curled and dragged their sharpened instruments stationed on the ends downward, Shadow arching back as much as he could try and keep them from breaking any skin underneath his darkened fur. Though this wasn't entirely successful, the small, yet persistent sting of fresh air meeting newly created scratches alerting him of this instantly.

The door's once straightened, smooth frame had begun to, steadily but surely, bend inward in some areas.

The Arms spawn's tactic was obviously not working, as even with its free hand clawing and attempting to tear away at whatever skin it could reach on upper portion of the smaller hedgehog, the little runt still refused to relinquish the Emerald to the larger being. And though its siblings would be in here any minute, even with its less advanced mind, the creature could at least comprehend the consequences of letting the shimmering relic slip into Shadow's hands. It had to dislodge him, even if just for a moment! Yet when its desperate search for any potential actions to take began to run short, the alien realized the answer had been in front of it all along. In fact, it had been, quite literally, right at its fingertips.

This foolishness had gone on long enough, and whilst he dare not allow such a thing to be seen by the half-witted grunt wrestling with him for the jewel, Shadow still couldn't factor out that each pound from the outside was yet another reminder he was running on borrowed time. Yet then again…ah, of course! How stupid of him! Here he was, outright touching it! Having to juggle between keeping the larger creature from regaining it and harnessing the stone's energy wasn't as easy as he had initially suspected, the continuous pounding outside far from helping. Nevertheless, keeping his ruby eyes centered on his prize proved to be more than enough of a motivator, the hedgehog feeling a familiar and frankly, more than welcome sensation wash over him, said sensation traveling to the fingertips of his free hand.

This was it. With this, at the very least, it'd make his acquisition easier, not to mention FINALLY get him back on track!

"CHAOS SPEAR- "

RIP!

The hot flashes of concentrated, orange energy was cast outward with a swing of his hand in the direction of the black creature's bug-eyed face, making direct contact. At the same time, however, Shadow found that in place of his flesh being scratched at, numerous of the ivory fibers upon his chest were, simultaneously all at once, harshly and crudely yanked from their places. He had no idea up until that point, yet if he had to confess, yes, the scratching was indeed more preferably to fur being ripped out.

A cry of pain was cut short from gnashing teeth, though Shadow found he was granted some satisfaction in hearing his aggressor's howls and wails from the clearly painful burn delivered onto its most vulnerable features, one spear seeming to have contacted its eye, as one of its hands cupped over it protectively.

Still, these moments of pain and reprieve were cut short for both as it didn't take long for either to realize that the Chaos Emerald had, during the execution of their latest tactics to force the other to release it, slipped from both of their grasps and bounced all the way across to the other side of the room.

They would be here soon; the door couldn't hold for much longer.

Despite the fierce burning that lit his chest on fire, Shadow would've gained a head start if not for the larger being's hand seizing his ankle and forcibly dragging him back, essentially knocking him off his feet. Still, despite this, even with the creature just nearly able to grasp at the lone Emerald, barely a few inches away from its fingers, Shadow had managed to get up and launch himself forward in one long, drawn out, stride.

And whilst he had essentially sent himself rolling into the wall, ultimately, the maneuver proved to be successful as despite the less than graceful landing, finally, at long last, he had, in his hands, what he had been seeking. Though not one of the two that had been stolen from him, it would more than suffice, as well as allow him to truly have a better chance at getting them back.

A low, hissing snarl to the side of him cut his victory short, yet oddly enough, the black hedgehog found himself to be rather indifferent to the interruption. In fact, he welcomed it.

The mechanism keeping the door shut had all but spent the last of its strength. The frame had yet to bend in entirely, yet the rest of the group would be flooding into the room in but a minute or two.

He had to act fast. At last, while it would only be one, a satisfying and truly fitting retribution was finally able to be executed, but it would be, as much seemed to be in these events, short-lived. No matter though, Shadow thought. Things, after what seemed like forever, were finally beginning to go in his favor.

Holding the white Emerald tightly in his hand and proclaiming the appropriate statement, the black beast lunged forward and managed to seize the smaller hedgehog, pulling him upward in a tight chokehold against the larger being's built chest. Yet if the creature could've seen his face at that moment, then perhaps it wouldn't have thought itself victorious in its capture. Rather, it's attention would've been centered on the small, yet undeniable smirk curling on the Ultimate Lifeform's tanned muzzle. Oh, and this beast would be able to get more than enough of a display to his title alright! After all, it seemed that everything else prior didn't provide a clear enough message to its dear parent!

Finally, at long last, their combined efforts had paid off.

The metal frame could no longer hold up to their might, breaking from its hinges and mechanisms that held it in place and with one, final push, it was thrown forward, the twisted, dented shell of what it had become skidding along the metallic flooring until it contacted the walls. Flooding into the small yet coveted area they had been working so hard and diligently to gain access to, it was only when nearly all the next wave of Black Arms troops were inside did they see the condition of their once hidden away prize.

In that, there was none.

The hedgehog that was surely awaiting them inside, along with their one sibling that held access to one of their Breeder's prized stones were completely gone from the room. And from the looks of it, it would've appeared that only the damage they caused would've been the only evidence that any form of life was present in here at all.

* * *

As his feet landed on solid ground and the rest of his senses adjusted to the unfamiliar environment around him, it had occurred to Shadow that where he had ended up was someplace far less bright and spacious. In fact, dare he say, it was even smaller than the room he had previously been in. Now having the opportunity, the Ultimate Lifeform made good on his previous promise by giving the larger creature still clinging to him a good kick in the head, the flares of his shoe thrusters put in for some extra.

Where he was exactly, Shadow wasn't too sure, yet he was still somewhere aboard the Ark. There were sources of light, yes, though it was far from able to brighten the small space from above. In fact, from the looks of it, most light appeared to come from the ring of machines seemingly processing and detailing various strings of code that briefly appeared on and off on the monitors.

Regardless, if he held any interest in what exactly they were processing for, that could come later. Besides, he still had a rather persistent heckler to deal with.

Though the Chaos Spear previously delivered upon its facial features hadn't penetrated the valuable optical portion, the alien kept its hand over the struck eye, the other staring down at the miserable little creature that had once again managed to injure it. The burning…of all places, it was there in that sensitive, vulnerable place that it seemed to dwell and intensify the worst!

And, to its dismay, the damage had perhaps been worse than initially suspected, as from the looks of it, its target had gone and disappeared yet again-

WHACK!

The head. What about its head made that small, troublesome thing so eager to strike there?

These ponderings were short-lived as the next thing it was aware of was the fact that instead of the flattened, metal flooring breaking its fall, the Soldier was sent head first into one of the various monitors surrounding the both. The broken glass set forth a flurry of sparks and burning flares right in the spawn's face, the pain immediately forcing it to push away from the broken in screen. It hadn't gone in too far, a good portion of the inner workings of the monitor left untouched. A fortunate turn on its part, as whilst it wasn't entirely certain what these things were, let alone why breaking the smooth barrier of glass had allowed the strange bits and pieces inside to cause it such pain, the sudden surges that traveled through its entire form felt vastly different compared to the flares or even the Chaos Spear. And despite its rather early birth compared to the others roaming around the ship, some deep-seated, instinctual piece of its animal-mind detected that these things were to be avoided. Too much of that strange surging burn, whatever it was, would produce quite an unwanted result, perhaps even a lethal one.

Yet the moment it turned itself to face the one that had dealt it such a blow, it found itself being sent to the floor by yet another kick from behind. Shadow leapt off the platform that served to hold up the monitors, though his next strike was met with an open palm clasping his ankle and roughly jerking him upward, essentially dislodging him from any solid surface to stand on.

The creature looked down at the seized hedgehog hanging upside down, then to the ring of computer screens surrounding the both. Then back to its prize, still with the Emerald.

It wasn't exactly the position he had envisioned himself taking upon finally regaining one of the powerful jewels, yet it'd be corrected soon. He had gotten off on such a good start in a long while, there was no way that he was going to simply let it slip through his fingers-

"CHAOS CON- "

WHAM!

Whilst the blue hue that came with the activation of the use of Chaos energy had come, it left just as quickly as Shadow found both his concentration, as well as his coordination and just about everything else robbed from him.

THUD!

Save for the sensation of blunt, cubic objects meeting the back of his head repeatedly. The entire room, quite literally, was spinning for Shadow, as the black alien swung the smaller hedgehog around the circular area, Shadow in turn finding it increasingly difficult to garner enough energy and focus to get out of this seemingly never-ending cycle, as well as his grip on the very thing that'd allow him to escape.

His aggressor had, after another round of swinging, came to a stop, its hand still firmly clasped around Shadow's ankle while Shadow himself, if not for the alien's hold, would've probably been lying face first on the floor. A small glance around the room signaled that indeed, the damage it had managed to deal out was a substantial amount, both to the target and essentially everything else. While its swinging hadn't completely shattered the surface of any monitors entirely, the collection of splintering cracks and broken out slivers of glass littering the floor couldn't have been exactly pleasant to feel either. Some of the strange, thin things that produced those burning sparks had peeked through the few places where the surface had been smashed out entirely, and while the temptation of shoving the meddlesome rodent's head through one was strong, both out of satisfaction and genuine curiosity of how long the throughs and shaking would be, Breeder's words drove their way through such thoughts.

The temptation was still there, yes, but it would be highly doubtful that he wished for a dead hedgehog to be brought to him. Reaching down for the white Emerald, now only connected to Shadow by his fingertips lightly touching the surface, it was just when it had nearly regained its prize, when its own digits were just mere inches away from the shimmering stone, the Soldier had noticed a strange peculiarity.

Something that, had it been paying attention to the seemingly unconscious hedgehog instead of the damage it had done around it, perhaps what occurred next would've been prevented.

He was not unconscious. In fact, as the creature realized, when the smaller creature looked over his shoulder, a single, red eye looking up with nothing short of utmost satisfaction, its dawdling would prove to be its downfall. It attempted to snatch the stone away, yet the red glow that signaled what was to come had already become too strong. Its fate was sealed.

The concentrated collection of burning, developing energy could finally be released.

Whatever objects or devices that were spared from the exertion of raw power had either been fortunate enough to be too high up or concealed underneath the surface of the floor. Anything and everything else around the hedgehog was sent flying back against the walls or shattering upon the wave of Chaos energy reaching it, sometimes being both at once. Every individual monitor littering the room was rendered completely unusable, cracked screens now shattering entirely or outright ripping out from their placements atop of the circular platform around the room, sending them flying and bouncing off the walls as if they weighed little to nothing.

Yet as soon as the wave of destruction had begun, it had just as swiftly come to an end. The one that had instigated such left in a condition that, while it was mainly intact, the lack of movement from the bipedal creature for the next few moments were what Shadow had hoped for. And frankly, he wasn't in the mood to stay and see whether it was merely unconscious or dead.

The maneuver in itself wasn't something that Shadow was completely unprepared for, he in fact wishing to perhaps make use of the newly discovered attack against the very thing that had unintentionally caused him to use it in the beginning, yet as the coal black Lifeform got to a standing position, he came to realize that it would have to be a good while before he could make use of it again. Whether it be due to the couple of hard blows to his head and overall disorientation that came with them, or his own underestimation of just how much energy the maneuver had taken, Shadow wasn't entirely sure. Indeed, while it had come from the same source, Chaos Blast seemed to involve a far greater exertion of his energy compared to that of Chaos Spear, the latter involving a far lower amount compared to this.

All the same, he would learn to master it as well, Shadow thought proudly. And given that he was now back on track, he'd soon have more than enough energy to spare and get good practice in. And when all seven were gained…oh, then none of that would be of much concern at all. He'd be able to take care of ALL these loathsome creatures! Then the Doctor would have literally NOWHERE he could hide from him! Any and every bit of information he had would be delivered to him! Everything!

And if not the Doctor, then…then he'd go for the one that had started this whole thing. If the human scientist wouldn't talk, fine by him. All the better he was here anyway. It wasn't as if Eggman would've been that better of an option anyway, what knowledge did he even possibly have of this place? Of her? And yet…the prospect of facing Black Doom again, from how each of their previous encounters had gone, the strange, almost unnaturally strong sway he managed to hold over the hedgehog, it made such a thing not exactly something Shadow was wishing to jump right into. Even though he had come here, outright looking to gain back what was his and deal retribution to the one that had taken from him, now that he was here, the possibility of another and potentially final encounter drawing closer and closer had come to be something Shadow found himself somewhat unprepared for.

In fact, despite himself and an overwhelming reluctance to even allow the sentiment to come up as a simple possibility, he could've sworn that he was almost troubled by it. Dare he say, even afraid of it.

Though what for? Even with those previous encounters considered, had he not been successful every time? Well, discarding the incident at Glyphic Canyon, yet even then, he had rectified what had transpired there. And besides, once he had managed to gather all seven of the Emeralds, or at least as many as there currently were aboard the colony, then Doom would be the one afraid of him! In fact, it wouldn't surprise him if he immediately began spewing all he knew to him to save his own skin. Or outright giving him information that he never asked for! With his outright refusal to get into a physical altercation with him, it wouldn't have surprised Shadow at all if that was the route he would take when finally forced to face up against the Ultimate Lifeform's power!

'…title…one of the few things you know...'

Yes, he needn't worry. What was he thinking, indulging in something so foolish? He had come here after all, so he couldn't have been hesitant, let alone 'afraid'. No, of course not. He feared nothing. The Ultimate Lifeform knew not the meaning of fear-

SCREECH!

What the-?!

Whirling around to the sight of the now very conscious Arms Soldier hollering in fury and perhaps a good degree of pain, especially given its reluctance to try and stand, that seemed to not be too much of a detriment as the being saw fit to then begin sprinting right for Shadow on all fours. While not as coordinated as expected, Shadow couldn't deny that in this form, it was arguably faster. It would take a small amount of time to recover, yet now, he held just enough energy to make good on one, well timed Chaos Spear to another vulnerable area, then-

BANG!

Then nothing. He had done nothing. Didn't need to.

Quick and sudden as it had been, the hedgehog's ears knew that distinct blast of sound well enough, finding some sort of icy cold dread seizing him with a grip of iron that seemed almost impossible for him to shake off. It wasn't as if he was a stranger to that noise either, whether it be from Eggman's own machines, particularly Omega, or even more recently in Westopolis. Yet now, here in this place, Shadow found himself struggling with it at a far higher level than it had been before.

The Black Arms spawn, once charging forward, was sent back, head being sent crashing into one of the broken in monitors behind it before the alien's weight forced it to bounce towards the already rattled hedgehog and fall to the floor.

Fall to the floor…fall to the floor…and then she crawled. Crawled to him, trapped inside the-

The sharp cocking of a firearm forced the ebony speedster out of his reminiscing, albeit still with some difficulty, he having to outright divert all his attention away from the now clearly deceased alien before him. Yet as the owner of said weapon began to emerge from the now darkened shadows, he found that his apparent 'savior' wasn't exactly there out of good fortune.

He was one of the humans, though certainly older than many he had previously encountered before, hair short and snowy white, contrasting greatly with his tanned skin. His eye color was also somewhat of a striking feature, in that both irises were different in color, the left a light, sky blue and the right something of a honeyed hazel. Striking and noticeable, yes, though those were not what had drawn Shadow's attention to the man. Rather, ironically enough, it was something that had nothing to do with his actual physical features. The older man appeared to be garbed in quite a professional, no nonsense attire of a dark grey or navy (the poor lighting made it somewhat difficult to tell) with a high collar and matching, dark shoes. On the right side of his uniform, there appeared to be two, curving stripes of sorts, a red atop of a blue, this pattern also showing up on the cuffs of his sleeves, where short, white gloves were shown peeking out.

He was one of them, he belonged to the human soldiers. Yet his attire didn't invoke simply another one of GUN's lowly troops. No, this man, he was something else, someone of much more importance. A leader of sorts, maybe THE leader. Yet if that were so, what business did he have here? Better yet, from the intense furrowing of his thick, white brow as well as his evident deliberation in approaching him, it was more than clear enough that he hadn't come here by accident.

"At last." The man finally spoke, voice low and somewhat husky, yet with a slight amount of trepidation managing to slip into something meant to hold no emotion. And whilst he couldn't have exactly said for certain, Shadow found it hard to believe that the human was attempting to conceal only fear. And if there was indeed fear, then it was being concealed rather well, the barrel of his pistol being pointed right at the same place he hit the alien before, making his intentions more than clear. "At last, finally, I've found you, Shadow."

 **Note: At last, Commander Abraham Towers has come into the picture! While he hasn't made an appearance until now, readers of the last fic will know that he'll be a rather pivotal character in Black Convergence, both for Shadow's benefit and not. Here, while I won't get too into it just yet, I want to try something with the Commander that'll sort of relate back to Shadow and his own behavior/interactions with others to a degree, in that while there are key differences, there are a good number of similarities, both good and bad, and that ultimately, while different types of trauma, they do originate from the same source. Not a completely accurate or exact reflection, yet a reflection to a degree. I just hope I can do it well enough. Reflections and contrasts/similarities between characters is something I'm wanting to do later with others as well.**

 **That said, thank you to all those who have been with me, both when this thing first started and when this rewrite started, and I hope to see you all next time!**


	5. Catalyst of Convergence Part 5

**Note: First off, I am so sorry about the wait. But believe it or not, it actually has to do with me being unable to access the internet for a good week or so. We've just moved into our new house, and no longer have to share a home with my mother's parents! We've been getting some stuff in, and relying mostly on movies and DVDs for entertainment due to no internet, yet now we're back on and have cable! Plus, there was a little incident where my father was burning refuse outside and accidentally set the fire over a den of rabbits, one of which ran across the road while we brought the other one in. It couldn't have been more than a few weeks old, yet it was still able to eat solid food and for a bit, everything seemed good. Yet last Saturday, we found it in the box dead, so we went and put it in the woods as a final resting place. Oh yeah, and there was this thing too. Sorry, it's just been hectic (yet then again, when are things not?). Anyhow, here's the second to last part (hopefully) of the prologue, and I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5: Catalyst of Convergence Part 5**

 **Characters and settings © of Sonic Team/Sega**

'I found you, Shadow.'

There was little time to ask as to what the aging human meant as said hedgehog found himself having to make a quick leap to the left, lest he be struck by the bullet the man's pistol had just released.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shadow shouted, the suddenness of how willing the well-dressed man was to fire had caught him by surprise, yet the fact that he had assumedly come here, specifically for him and him alone allowed for a plethora of questions to develop. Of course, they, along with the first as to what he meant by his earlier statement, would have to wait, for another bullet was shot in his direction.

"I know good and well what I'm doing!" the older man growled, continuing to fire at his ebony colored target. "In fact, it should've been done a long time ago!" Roulette after roulette was unloaded from the barrel of his weapon, each individual bullet aimed directly for anywhere on the black hedgehog that he could get a clear shot at. Never mind the fact that he was essentially left with his precious ammo contacting broken machinery, in fact, the sight of sparks flying and electricity still surging through the circular ring of computers seemed to only motivate him further. "I knew it!" the gunman bellowed, all the while continuing his barrage against the smaller hedgehog. "I knew that you'd come here! I knew it the moment I got word you were seen with him!"

Seen with him…it didn't take much deducing to realize of whom he was referring to. Yet that in itself had finally pushed Shadow to having more than enough.

Wasting no time in utilizing the Emerald's power, the older man's differently colored eyes widened upon seeing his target vanish from sight. Without leaving a trail of black behind. Cursing to himself under his breath, he realized that the maneuver he was about to do would potentially leave him vulnerable. The logical portion of his thoughts that had previously been overwhelmed by the near maddening need to confront the black hedgehog finally managed to crawl its way back to the forefront of his mind, the man beginning to truly ponder whether even coming here was wise in of itself. Better yet, what sort of conduct was it for one of his position and caliber to be performing, what sort of image or example was he setting in going in like this, knowing full and well that he'd potentially be outmatched by the smaller, seemingly proclaimed 'Ultimate Lifeform'?

Then again, he was here now, wasn't he? And even more, said Ultimate Lifeform was here, just was he predicted. Here…along with 'him'. This would be his chance to finally end this madness. This would prove to 'him' that he was no longer that sniveling, pathetic child, he concluded, going through with the action of reloading his pistol, all the while keeping an eye out for 'his' little 'bundle of joy'. He was a man now, a powerful man, a strong man, and most importantly, a fearless man.

Yes, fearless, he thought, holding up his weapon as he began to turn, scanning the room for any sudden flash of black and red. Fearless, the uniformed man repeated. Fearless, fearless, fearless…fear…fear…fear-

The sound of the pistol unloading yet another roulette was painful to his hearing, though the kick to the back of his head that came just moments prior perhaps assisted in seemingly enhancing this effect. Making a quick move forward, the older man managed to keep himself from falling flat on the ground instead landing on his hands and knees, a position that he didn't exactly care for, yet at the moment, it would have to do in allowing him to recollect himself.

Unfortunately for him, that moment never came, as he realized in that moment that his pistol had slipped from his gloved hand, lying just below him. Reaching to grab it, the man found a large, angularly shaped jet shoe stomping down on his hand, the pressure and weight being placed on the single appendage making it near impossible to move as the shoe's owner forcibly maneuvered the hand to the side, away from the one thing that would protect him. Or at least, the one thing that had been able to protect him, as, to his surprise at least, the coal black hedgehog hadn't even bothered to pick up the weapon. When the man had attempted to make a grab for it with his free hand, Shadow simply responded by making use of his free foot, the right shoe coming to rest atop of it and kicking it to the other end of the room out of either of their reach.

"Care to explain yourself?" Shadow inquired, not releasing his weight from the human's gloved hand. That changed, however, after a few moments of not receiving an answer. "I'm not asking you a second time." He snarled, gradually allowing more and more weight down on the trapped appendage. Still, frustrated as he was growing with this man, his resolve was unquestionable. All the same though, his would win out over his, he'd see to that.

Then again, had he truly been aware of what this man had to say, perhaps he would've better prepared himself for what was to come.

While it was ultimately inevitable, the older human seemed to resign to the fact he'd have to speak, though what he would say would far from indicate he was in any way surrendering to the Ultimate Lifeform. "You're reasonably intelligent." He stated, speech somewhat strained thanks to the pressure applied to his hand. "At least I would hope so, given how much money was put into your development." There was another portion to that Shadow failed to catch, something about 'among other things', though what other things, he knew not. At least not now. "I'm here to make sure that you don't cause any more damage than you already have."

It was then that Shadow found himself truly analyzing his appearance, let alone his words. Yes, he had come here for him, apparently after a 'long time', whenever that was, yet this talk of knowing he would be here and the damage he had caused, no mere human would be able to know this. And whilst his attire wasn't exactly the kind he came to associate them with, it certainly would fit on those in a higher rank or position of power perhaps.

"You're with them." He stated, the man's steely resolve only further confirming the hedgehog's suspicions. "You're with GUN."

And just as expected, the uniformed human nodded. "How astute." He spoke, though his duel colored eyes rested on the weapon not but a few feet away from him. "Though if you believe me to be some low-ranking officer, then my assumptions of your intelligence are gravely mistaken." It would have to be quick. He would notice it, of course, he was no fool, unfortunately. Not like the rest of the horrid spawn running around here. Yet if he could get it in at just the right angle, to where it would cause just as much surprise as it would pain, then maybe he'd have a chance. He had come this far now, he wasn't going to simply allow this creature to have him! He wouldn't allow 'him' to have his way with the Ark and whatever else he was planning to do with the Earth!

"Then what do they call you? Chief? General?" Shadow questioned, realizing then that his hand, the one that had the blessing of not being kept underfoot, had begun to steadily inch closer along the floor.

"Commander actually." This realization came just a bit too late. "And while I can't stop the rest of those monsters on my own, I can at least take care of you!"

Rising and making swift contact with his throat, two fingers jabbed at the smaller, almost completely concealed area, the sudden difficulty in breathing distracting Shadow for a few spare seconds and forcing him to direct his attention in keeping himself in control of the situation. Unfortunately for him, this temporary lapse in focus had been enough to allow this supposed Commander to wriggle his hand out from underneath the hedgehog's jet shoe and get to his feet, rushing over to where his coveted pistol lay, seemingly in wait for him to retrieve it.

In retrospect, the fact that the Arms spawn hadn't come for him then and there should've been taken into consideration. Then again, the snowy haired human found that the sudden, stinging sensation assaulting his arm and tearing through the side of his sleeve was more than enough of an indicator that such a thing should've been noticed sooner.

Whirling around, his means of protection in hand, the taller human came to see the source of what had just assaulted him, iridescent stone in one hand, the other held back and fingertips emitting a bright, orange hue. As before, there was a prolonged period of silence and stillness between the two of them: neither making a move, yet both making their intentions and their resolve to follow through with them crystal clear. How long this lasted for exactly, neither Shadow or the Commander truly knew, the most that came from either merely being further silent threats to the other, whether it be the resounding 'click' of a pistol being cocked or the intensifying of orange orbs resting at the Ultimate Lifeform's fingertips.

Eventually though, whilst he was far from allowing himself to surrender to the smaller cretin's will, let alone any potential desire to leave, the Commander found the perpetuating silence to become rather grating. Perhaps just as much as the horrid creature's indifference to his presence. Surely, he knew, he knew well who he was, just as much as he knew why and who he was here for.

'Never again.' He mentally repeated to himself. 'Never, ever, EVER again.'

"You'll go no further than here." He finally spoke, eyes centered solely on the smaller hedgehog. "You may have been able to deceive the others, but your plans won't come to fruition!"

"That's rather bold of you. Or completely idiotic, I'm leaning more towards the latter." Shadow answered back. "I have no idea what you're talking about." The Commander was about to protest, yet Shadow continued. "I've never seen you before nor knew your name until now, but you apparently seem to know me. At least enough to go on and think that I'm part of a 'grand plan' of some kind."

"I don't think. I KNOW." The human officer replied. "I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you that you and he had nothing in mind but the destruction of the planet she adored!"

He would've dashed right then and there and snatched that weapon from his hands. He would've gone and rendered it completely unusable and render this unwanted interruption unconscious or incapable of following him any further, as after all, what good could he do now that he finally had access to powers that this human couldn't ever fathom harnessing? Indeed, Shadow would've left right then and there, one way or another and paid this raving madman no mind, had he not mentioned the last portion of his declaration to the hedgehog.

The planet she adored…was it the same one that he believed it to be? Was this man truly speaking of…" Maria?"

Unless he was mistaken, Shadow could've sworn he had just seen the Commander's fingers twitch, his grip on the gun's trigger somewhat slacken. It appeared the mere utterance of her name had nearly rendered his current aggressor no more dangerous than the unmoving form of the previously dispatched Black Arms soldier just a few feet away. He dared not take his gaze off his target, yet observing him further, it appeared that his previously stalwart opponent was struggling to keep himself composed and contain his emotions. Whether that be anger or sadness, Shadow couldn't exactly tell, and frankly, given the increasing wrinkles coming to the man's features, it could've been far more than just that, as if a slew of so many things came flooding back to him in that exact moment.

And honestly, had he not been made aware of the firearm still in the human's grasp, Shadow would've perhaps found himself beginning to succumb to whatever this wave of emotion was.

"Convenient." The Commander muttered, soft enough to potentially conceal the quivering beginning to seep into his voice, yet at just the right volume to where Shadow would most likely hear it. Fine by him, he thought. He wanted him to hear it. He wanted him to hear EVERYTING. "Of everything that happened then and now, of COURSE you just so happen to remember her."

As tempting as it was, Shadow held himself from making use of the Chaos Spear he held on standby. "Not everything." He confessed. What for, he found himself pondering, yet still, the last thing he wanted was someone else on his tail causing him problems. "Yet…you know of her?" If this man truly believed he was somehow connected with 'him', with Doom…no, not yet. If he tried anything, then he could simply deal with it. Despite his rather abrupt entrance and their far from cordial interactions thus far, the black hedgehog had finally found in what seemed like forever a source of information that, despite serving as his current aggressor, was proclaiming and telling what he knew freely.

"Oh, I know more than that." The Commander retorted, though given who the subject matter was, his tone began to soften. "Maria…God, she…Maria…" it was shameful, here he was already losing control, and in front of HIM of all people. "…she was the only friend I ever had. Ever."

Only friend ever…Shadow found himself believing that the man was, surprisingly enough, not exaggerating in any way. He was being completely and utterly genuine. And despite himself, the Ultimate Lifeform, in that moment, found that in some odd way, he could perhaps empathize.

'I never saw her again…'

"This place…no. It's not possible." The Commander shook his head, having contemplated something only to dismiss it outright. "That's too much of a coincidence that you have no idea of what occurred here. That you and him, that monster being here now, wanting to gain access to the cannon…" his duel colored eyes fell on the single Chaos Emerald in the ebony speedster's grasp. "It's downright convenient to be honest."

"I have no intention in doing ANYTHING for Black Doom, assuming that's who you're referring to." Shadow immediately told the taller officer, though this declaration seemed to not serve him much.

"Ah, so you DO know more than you're letting on."

"I'm only here to reclaim what he's stolen from me!" Shadow retorted, more than a little defensive. "If anything, I'm the one doing your incompetent organization a favor, as you've done such a 'fine' job already in dealing with those creatures, I imagine!"

It was so tempting. So utterly, all consuming, that holding onto the one thing he believed to separate him from the smaller hedgehog was beginning to lose its hold on him. The very urge to simply allow his digit to pull on the trigger was practically begging to be acted upon. After all, that was why he had come, wasn't it? He had come to end this once and for all, he and his men. It'd only be fitting that he'd make sure that this hedgehog…no, this 'thing', not cause anymore damage than he already has.

Though that would leave him wondering as to explaining the scene he had just come into. That alien he had just dispatched was obviously not on the best of terms with Shadow. And truly, despite his more…personal motivation and feelings that lead to him coming here (not without certainty that his men were still holding their positions of course), the Commander found it growing more and more difficult in believing that the hedgehog was simply playing dumb or lying.

At least, not in this case.

"Truly?" he questioned, still not entirely ready to accept it, yet he was, despite whatever Shadow might've thought at that moment, attempting to make sense of what had just been said. "You truly don't know anything that's going on?"

He didn't allow the energy in his fingers to completely disperse, yet the red streaked Ultimate Lifeform had lowered the hand he intended to release said energy with, neither he nor the Commander taking their eyes off one another. "Nothing outside of the obvious of the Black Arms having some rather unfavorable intentions for the planet. As of now, it seems you're apparently far more knowledgeable on them than I."

If he could've afforded to do so, the older man would've averted his gaze from the smaller individual. Those eyes…true, they weren't a splitting image of 'his', yet he had far from forgotten the trembling that seized his small, young body upon realizing he held no idea as to who, let alone what he had been unfortunate enough to glimpse at. Even more so when 'he' had glimpsed at the two of them, though the blonde present with him had been spared from such a sight. At least, he had hoped she had, though given what he had both seen and witnessed later in time, he couldn't deny that he had more than his fair share of doubts.

No, he shook his head. This was far from the time to be surrendering to such things, let alone allowing them to dominate him. Besides, if he recalled correctly, the one he had been tracking down this entire time had just confessed that he had little idea of the invaders intentions either, at least outside of conquest.

"Alright, let's try this…" the uniformed officer began. "Do you know what this place is? What it was for?"

He had wished to answer, truly, he had, if not just to save face. Yet as the moments ticked by, Shadow found himself begrudgingly forced to acknowledge his own ignorance regarding the very ship to begin with. It wasn't as if he knew nothing though! He knew its name, that it was not of the Earth, and that, at some time or another, he had spent some fraction of time here. Though not as much time as 'her' perhaps.

After a small amount of time, the hedgehog's lack of an answer seemed to be enough for the Commander to continue, each bit and piece of information he relayed triggering something from within the Ultimate Lifeform's buried consciousness. "Professor Gerald Robotnik, he had constructed this place to do some vital, important research. Research on a cure for a potent, guaranteed-to-be-fatal disease. It…" the older man paused for a moment, as if to collect himself. "It was made to help her. It was all made to keep her alive, even if just for one more day."

Yes…he…Shadow was beginning to remember that now. She, Maria was sick. Very, very sick. Barely if not any sort of immune system…NIDS, he believed it to be called.

"The Professor, however, was too ambitious for his own good. And too willing and desperate." These words worked their way through clenched teeth, the snowy haired officer obviously far from pleased by the fact these events had occurred. "The research and various tests, and there were many, weren't providing enough for his benefactors to deem it necessary to continue. He managed to produce one, known prototype, yet it itself was reduced to being forced to live on life support, and thus, it was just another link in a chain of long and tiresome failures."

Prototype…now that, Shadow didn't really remember. There was another? Another made from the Professor's research? Another that, ultimately, had proved to be an absolute failure?

"It was then that, I suppose in some way or another, I still don't know how, but…" the Commander's hand gripped tighter on his pistol, as if readying himself to use it if need be, though not necessary against the hedgehog before him. "It was then that 'he' found him."

"He'?" it was perfectly logical. This human wasn't exactly the most specific in simply saying 'he', so why shouldn't Shadow question as to who this 'he' was?

The answer he received, however, wasn't exactly an answer he was prepared for.

"You know good and well who I'm talking about."

Or more accurately, one he wasn't willing to accept.

"I was young then," the older human acknowledged. "But there's no mistaking what I had seen." The pistol in his hand was raised back to a higher angle. "The image of that demon and the professor with you in that tube has stayed with me all these years! Not a single day went by where I was able to get away from it! It always lurked there in he back of my mind!" his finger tightened on the trigger. "Every. Single. Day."

It was pathetic, it being such a display of weakness, though what he had just heard was, frankly, the last thing Shadow had ever wished to hear. Even worse, it wasn't as if any of this was some sort of startling revelation to him. Rather, it had simply been information, a cold hard fact that, while he was aware of in the back of his mind, refused to allow it any other place in his mind. Denial. Simple, yet foolish denial Shadow had ben partaking in to a degree. Yet now, now whatever logic and reasoning he had used before to push it back was losing its power. All he found himself able to do at that moment was shake his head in useless, unmeaning protest.

"No." the hedgehog forced himself to speak, as if his vocal rebuttal would actually mean anything. "That can't be. It-it's not…" he found himself staggering and stammering. So pathetic. "Yo-You're WRONG! You're mistaken!"

"In a way, I wish it was!" the Commander answered back. "I wish that none of this was true! I wish I didn't have to be here right now even seeing you right now!" his finger pulled the trigger back even more. Just a little more, then maybe, just maybe he'd land the lucky shot. Then maybe he'd end all of this. "Your birth is what lead to her and everyone else's deaths!"

The roulette was released, Shadow finding his reaction time hampered somewhat in regard to before. He had managed to evade the bullet sent in his direction, of course, yet while there was no torn flesh of any kind, the hedgehog couldn't help but wonder if some fur had been taken off. The older human was far from deterred by this, he seeing to unleashing even more roulettes to follow, each one of them aimed directly at any sign of red and black. Essentially, it had seemed to dissolve back to the same scenario the two had previously been engaged in before. A game of run and dodge that, whilst neither of them were willing (or able) to admit it, would lead them nowhere.

Of course, as before, there reached a point where one of them had finally had enough.

Ironically enough, just before the second to last bullet contained in the loaded roulette was released from its holding place, the pistol found itself in the possession of yet another hand attempting to seize it from its current owner. Both human and hedgehog wrestled and fought against each other, the former with both hands while the latter was doing what he could with one. The pistol's owner was somewhat perplexed by this, especially since it seemed that his opponent's struggle against him would've been compromised.

"CHAOS…"

Ah, yes. Of course. The Emerald.

"SPEAR!"

Ducking under Shadow's swiping hand, the Commander found that both the Ultimate Lifeform's speed and proximity left him with very limited room to move, not to mention the still ongoing struggle to regain his weapon. It hadn't struck him anywhere vital, yet the older man found the back of his head and the nape of his neck suddenly lit afire, a burning, scorching heat assaulting his skin and hairline meeting his flesh that was comparable to a newly lit torch being forced against the area. Painful, yes, yet it was not enough, as he still fought to get ahold of his only means of protection-

WHAM!

Now it was the underside of his jaw that was awash with pain, the hardened, red toe of a jet shoe being the source.

BANG!

Though this was reciprocated by the flesh of his assailant's leg being torn by the single bullet left inside the roulette.

Taking a step back and clasping the wounded area, Shadow found the temptation of beating this insufferably stubborn human nearly too much for him to resist. Then again, if not for him, he would've been further along in his initial mission, and given he now had the means to do so, what was there truly stopping him from simply leaving this old fool to his ramblings?

And indeed, Shadow would've done just that. Had his eyes not taken notice of the fluid leaking from his current wound. The fact that he was bleeding at all was of no surprise. Yet that wasn't what put his plans on hold. At first, he didn't even believe what he was seeing, his expectations…well, ultimately, he didn't have any regarding how blood looked, let alone his blood. Though given what he was seeing, both trickling down his leg and on the fabric of his glove…perhaps he should've given it more thought.

'It's green.' His mind concurred. An obvious fact, yes, yet still even more poignant. 'It's green…it's green…like-'

"Speak of the devil." The Commander's voice came to the disturbed hedgehog's ears, a hint of satisfaction in his tone. "He even bleeds like the rest of them."

Green. It was green like the stains seen on Knuckles' gloves when he was found on the bridge. Stains from when he had previously encountered a small collection of them beforehand. It was only after he had done it that Shadow found himself regretting his actions. He couldn't resist it, he knew that all too well, yet despite his need for confirmation of what he was exactly seeing, suffice to say, he didn't exactly like what he found.

Green. Green…it was green. It was a brightly hued, saturated, disgusting, filthy green. Disgusting, fifthly green…coming from his wound. Coming from him.

"Do you believe me now? Or even better, how are you going to try denying this?" the Commander questioned, steadily getting back up to his feet. "If not, look at the hole in your friend's head over there." He growled, gesturing to the motionless corpse of the Arms spawn in the room with them that, until now, had generally been ignored. "There's got to be at least something of a puddle developed by now."

"Quiet."

"Better yet, if your mind's still a little hazy, why don't you just go and ask your precious 'parent' yourself?! After all, the two of you obviously have a good enough connection to where you probably share everything with each other!"

"Quiet!"

"What has he told you? Huh?! What did he promise you in exchange for those stones?! The Earth? Because whatever he's got planned for it, he'll most likely need all the help he can get! And it'd be right up your ally, wouldn't it, Ultimate Lifeform!? After all, God knows what that madman Gerald did to your- "

"QUIET!"

They didn't make contact with anything but the ground, yet the orange flares of the Chaos Spear had been shot close enough to prompt the human man to tighten his lips. It had done so for the both of them, however, another wave of stillness falling between the Commander and Shadow, the man not taking his eyes off of the Ultimate Lifeform whilst Shadow dared not allow his eyes to drift elsewhere, especially down to his still bleeding leg.

"You've delayed me long enough." Shadow snarled. "Whatever you think or believe," his tongue faltered for a moment, as if considering whether or not he wished to continue on. "I don't care. But given you want Doom to be stopped just as badly as everyone else," he then turned his back to the officer "I suggest that you not get in my way again."

He should've done it. He should've gone and left right then and there. And truly, he would've done just that, yet the next words that had come from the defeated human forcibly put his exit on hold.

"Tell me this." The Commander choked out, Shadow not seeing it, yet his sense of hearing gave more than a good enough visual. Small bits of spittle were undoubtedly coming from his mouth, or was it blood, he wasn't sure. "And it's one of the more recent events that's happened, so if you pull any of that 'memory' crap, I'll know you're outright lying."

That was it, Shadow had already more than enough. "CHAOS-"

"How much do you know about the ruins in Glyphic Canyon?"

The waves and building energy radiating and in turn, harnessed from the Emerald had immediately died in that very moment, the coal black Ultimate Lifeform nearly outright dropping the coveted jewel from his hand due to what he had just heard.

"I know you heard me." The Commander snarled, wiping his mouth of the seeping fluids thanks to Shadow's little kick. "And given your reaction, I think it's safe to say you definitely know about it. Perhaps, and I'm just throwing this out there, maybe you've actually BEEN there."

It was a trap. It was trap set up to ensnare him in his own words, yet all the same, what else was the officer attempting to do but get the truth out?

"What happened there? Why did those creatures decide to go there after laying waste to Westopolis?"

The truth…there were more than a few truths in regard to what had occurred there, one of which the man was probably more ready (and perhaps willing) to accept compared to the others. Yet the still present wetness and sting of air meeting exposed flesh deterred Shadow's mind further away from relaying THAT particular set of happenings. Especially given both what he had just heard and his own musings prior, neither of which he was entirely ready to allow into consideration.

"Black Doom…" what was he doing? Why was he even telling the one who outright attempted to murder him this? It wasn't as if he was looking for validation from him of all people! "The ruins, he said that they were an ancient structure that his race had constructed a thousand or so years ago. He…wished to use to gain an advantage in his acquisition of the Chaos Emeralds, and as leverage against those that would perhaps stand against him." He barely knew this insane fool, and given his introduction, Shadow had owed him absolutely nothing! Still, despite himself, he continued to speak. "And if you know about it's rising, then surely you would know about how it's now little more than a pile of rubble somewhere!" maybe, perhaps, he WAS seeking some sort of validation. Just not from him. "Something of which you don't need to bother thanking me for. I don't want anything from you or your grunts as it is."

There, that was it. He had answered his question, at least enough of it that he was willing to relay, and even then, it was only what mattered. There was nothing more to, or that he was going to readily say, so why was he still here? Why was he still delaying his exit from the small room?

Why didn't he up and leave the moment the Commander began speaking again?

"If you know all that, surely you might also know how it somehow started flying in the first place, am I right?"

Shadow's mouth opened, his lips and tongue moving on their own accord in an effort to form together some sort of defense, yet the hedgehog put a stop to any and all sounds attempting to escape, shutting his mouth and stilling his tongue. He tried to concentrate, to channel and appropriately make use of the Emerald's power, yet every attempt, whether vocally or mentally, to recite the appropriate command, the same, deeply-toned, guttural voice pierced through his mind.

His voice. His voice in his head…the last of those green stones just mere feet from him in that distant, remote portion of the world.

'Touch it.'

"What…" as bad of an idea it was, Shadow found he couldn't help himself in replying back. "What sort of evidence do you even have to make such a claim?"

'Let it rise…'

"None, really." The human admitted. "Though given how ready you were in telling me that you were the one that sent it came crashing down makes me a little curious, I can't help but notice that the mere mention of it is making you more than a little uncomfortable. Any reason for that?"

'Touch it…'

"I didn't mean-"Ugh, no! Shadow managed to stop himself midway, yet already, he had gone and said more than enough to condemn himself in the human's eyes.

'Let it rise…'

'Stop.'

"Ah. So, you DO know more than what you're letting on."

Yet another thing he told himself he wasn't going to do, Shadow whirled around to face the human speaking with him. "I know only what I've told you!" he assured, albeit rather aggressively. "And that includes Black Doom as well! If there's anyone here that knows anything, it's you!"

'Let it rise…'

'Stop it!'

Those words…why now?! Of all times and places, why NOW did his mind find it necessary to begin plaguing him with continuous recitation of those phrases?! Better yet, as much as the thought of it made the Commander's prying all the more discomforting, why did Doom's voice seem to not be mere remembering of things he had said prior? If Shadow knew no better, then he would've assumed that Doom himself was speaking these things to him at this very moment.

"Don't stop there." The Commander stated, pausing to wipe another collection of spittle and small traces of blood from his mouth, Shadow seeing that his kick had also done damage to the human's nose, small trails of red running down from his nostrils. "What all this 'I didn't mean' crap? You didn't mean what?"

'Touch-'

"You helped him."

It was useless. Completely and utterly useless, and despite knowing good and well that it'd do nothing for him, the Ultimate Lifeform found himself slowly, yet steadily shaking his head. And to his luck, he caught sight of the green fluid still oozing outward from his lesion.

"You helped him bring those ruins up, somehow. You-"

He could stand it no longer. The Commander's words, whatever they were, had been lost in the utterance of "Chaos Control!" and the subsequent vanishing of the hedgehog previously standing not but a few feet away from the human. Where he was going, where he ended up, Shadow frankly didn't care. For the time being, he simply needed, desperately wanted, to go away. Far, far away from that room, and especially from that man. And Doom…well, that…that'd have to be put on hold for a bit. At least until he could gather his bearings.

The sensation of solid ground meeting the bottoms of his shoes alerted Shadow that his journey was complete, and thankfully, from the looks of it as he scanned the area, no Arms or GUN Soldiers in sight. Reaching up to wipe away small droplets of sweat developing on his brow, the hedgehog found that instead of the plushness of an ivory glove, a chilled, hardened material contacted his flesh.

'His pistol.' Shadow mentally uttered, removing the handheld weapon from his forehead. 'I took his pistol with me?!'

How disjointed was he that he didn't even realize that he had gone and taken (or more appropriately, stolen) the Commander's weapon with him? True, he hadn't intended on simply handing it back to him, especially given he had no idea of exactly how many refills he had on his person, yet that didn't translate to Shadow up and accidentally taking it with him!

Well, whatever, he thought. If he was indeed who he claimed to be, then one of his rank should've known better than to tangle with the likes of him. Besides…he…he couldn't have been right. The Professor and Maria…well, maybe. Yet regarding 'him'…no, that…that wasn't possible.

His red eyes fell on the small firearm in his hand, the Emerald, oddly enough, not even being considered.

Things that the Commander had said, at least to a degree, seemed to resonate with him. A place all the way out here built specifically for finding the cure to her ailment. Farfetched, yes, yet Shadow found himself believing it completely. After all, even before that older human had managed to find him, this place simply wouldn't leave him alone.

And her, Maria, while Shadow hadn't really been able to tell completely from the brief, sparse flashes that came to him, yet reviewing them now, with the knowledge he held, there was something a little…off with her. She didn't appear to be famished or anything of that sort, yet then again, perhaps it was because she was placed in an environment such as this. Any and everything aboard would've probably had to have been approved and allowed. Not to mention disinfected.

He hadn't even noticed anymore that he was still bleeding, turning the barrel of the pistol towards him. This angle, yes. It would've gone right through her back…and come out her chest. Her blue shirt being stained with red.

'She…she was…and…and then she pulled something. Some lever that…when I was inside the…'

The image was too much, Shadow wasting no time in hurling the firearm against a nearby wall. His gaze stayed on the weapon for a few more moments before he forcibly wretched his line of sight from it. What was he doing?! Here he finally had one of the Emeralds in his grasp, and he's standing around dawdling and contemplating the ramblings of some insane old fool?! And it was just one! There were still six out there waiting on him!

Though he didn't know exactly where to go, the hedgehog at least had something to guide his way now. If he was fortunate enough, he'd find at least half of these aboard the ship, yet given how swell his luck had been thus far, the ebony hedgehog wasn't allowing his hopes to rise too much.

Either way though, whatever the case might've been, be it they were here or down on Earth still, Shadow would have them by the end of this. And then everything would be made as it should be. Everything would be given to him.

Everything.

Everything. No matter what it was.

And there was no reason to fear it, because the Commander was wrong. He was wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong…

 **Present Time**

 **Space Colony Ark**

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

He had told himself that repeatedly as he continued onward. It was something hilarious in hindsight, as Shadow actually believed that it'd be beneficial for him. That somehow, it'd actually better prepare him for whatever he was to find out when the time came.

Ironic, for despite what speed he was traveling at indicated, coming into contact with Black Doom at this point in time was the last thing even the Ultimate Lifeform wished to do.

After acquiring all of the Emeralds, well, that would've come eventually, especially given what had even spurred him to come here in the first place. And frankly, he had no intention in doing so until then.

'It was then that, I suppose in some way or another, I still don't know how, but…it was then that 'he' found him.'

It was a truly a last-minute decision, and, if Shadow had to swallow each and every portion of his pride, he would wholeheartedly admit that it was a decision made simply because, now, it truly seemed like he had no choice.

Not long after his escape from that tiny room, he had come across Vector the Crocodile by sheer coincidence, as well as surprise, as at the time, the hedgehog had come to believed that aside from himself, Sonic and Tails (wherever they were), and the two bands of human soldiers and aliens, no one else would've dared come aboard amidst all the chaos. Of course, it was then that Vector explained his and his team's intention in being here, as apparently around the same time the attack on Westopolis occurred, several files and important data had apparently been stolen from the Ark's very archives. Information on what exactly, Vector didn't entirely specify, as given their current, temporary employment by GUN, the Chaotix "weren't at liberty to say."

What he would say, however, repeatedly, over and over as if the reptile believed that Shadow would've up and forgotten it entirely, was that the best course of action was to find this highly coveted 'computer room' that served as the main hub of all the electronic data and memory aboard the ship.

He had no such interest in his quest, let alone any intention in ever doing those people any sort of favors, yet the reaction from his Chaos Emerald had been enough to make Shadow reconsider simply leaving the detective on his lonesome. Besides, Master Detective or not (of which he highly doubted), the hedgehog considered the fact that even with his own memory not exactly being too reliable at the time, he at least had a better grasp on the layout of this place than Vector did. Even if he himself had never, and probably didn't ever even then, see any such 'computer room'.

As their journey began, even amidst Vector's continuous re-directions and proclamations that their priority was finding and securing the 'computer room', Shadow cursed himself in that despite him finally getting back on track, he couldn't help but ponder and go over what had happened in the far smaller, more compact computer room just a short time before.

The push to find the Chaos Emerald had managed to keep him focused for the most part, as well as the growing irritation Vector's continuous quips about their (technically his) mission. Yet it seemed that the GUN Commander's words and actions beforehand were determined to simply not leave him alone. The wound delivered to his leg had thankfully healed up to a good degree before he and Vector found each other, yet despite the fact it had long ceased to bleed freely, there was still a scab present amidst the fur that had covered his skin. Vector must've seen it, Shadow catching the crocodile's brown eyes glancing down from time to time, only to immediately direct his attention elsewhere when the hedgehog shot a look in his direction.

He said nothing, yet from the strange tint of green of the healing skin, Shadow didn't doubt that at least some time before this, Vector had seen such a color before. Where, it ultimately didn't matter, the fact he was being unusually quiet about it said more than enough.

As expected, they were met up by a few, small collections of Black Arms on the prowl, and the increasing intensity of the Emerald's drawing force indicated to both of them that another was undoubtedly close by. Both he and Vector had begun to dispatch of them, yet the sudden sound of gunfire immediately seized everyone's attention, along with the growing closeness of pounding boots echoing down the aged yet eerily preserved halls.

Vector had then, after the unexpected use of Chaos Control to immediately make themselves scarce, finally "had enough of staying quiet". Ironic, seeing as the main contribution he seemed to be giving was the constant talk and prattle of 'computer rooms', yet the suddenness of Shadow getting out of sight when the first sign of help was coming was what finally forced him to come out and say it.

"Are you in some sort of trouble with these guys?"

At the time, Shadow had responded with the demand for the green-skinned reptilian to "Mind your own business.", though that seemed to almost unintentionally answer his question. The quest of acquiring another Chaos Emerald/Finding the Computer Room seemed to drag on and on for a good while until finally, at long last, they had managed to catch a break.

Though it had also become obvious that Vector had no idea what the difference between an actual 'room' and an entire chamber was.

Either way, despite this, the Chaos Emerald also happened to be right there as well. How exactly, neither were entirely sure, yet then again, the same could've been asked for those found prior. Before he could move to grasp for it, however, Vector had somehow managed to be one step ahead and snagged the Amethyst colored stone. What he was thinking in doing so, Shadow knew not, though upon reaching forward, not even in an aggressive manner, the crocodile responded by putting it out of range for him to seize.

Of all times for him to be putting his self-proclaimed detective skills to work. Vector began unloading question after question on the ebony hedgehog, of whom by this point, and retreaded this ground again and again to the point where he was heavily considering just taking the Emerald and making a break for it. Besides, what chance was there that Vector would ever catch him?

'I was young then…but there's no mistaking what I had seen.'

Still, as tempting and perhaps efficient the maneuver might've been, it probably would've done him no favors.

'The image of that demon and the professor with you in that tube…'

And whatever he or anyone else thought of him at this point, only one thing amongst any of those preconceived notions mattered. It mattered due to it being the one he was wishing to dispose of.

Whilst Shadow hadn't relayed everything to Vector, especially what occurred in Westopolis, let alone Glyphic Canyon, he had essentially told him what he deemed necessary for him to know. At least in the sense that wouldn't paint him in too unfavorable a light.

'Like before. When he first released you.'

It wasn't as if he lied, yet he knew if anything relating to whatever bizarre tie he had to Black Doom (he having to ultimately admit it to himself at that point), then that Chaos Emerald was as good as gone. At least in where there'd undoubtedly be some sort of confrontation between he and the head of the Chaotix. Or even better, GUN yet again.

The mention of Sonic being the one to accompany him here had seemingly garnered some of Vector's trust, as well as the mentioning of how he was here to essentially put a stop to whatever sort of scheme the black invaders had put in motion. Not complete trust, but just enough to where the detective had to admit that "if there's anyone here that'll know how to use this thing, it's probably you."

And thus, now, here he was: rushing down empty, quiet corridors completely devoid of troops, alien and human alike, with two of seven Emeralds in his grasp. Back right where he had started.

Making perhaps one of the stupidest, most irresponsible decisions ever conceived.

In truth, he had no intention of searching anywhere for Black Doom or any of his 'children', dare he risk previous events repeating themselves. Of course since that time, quite a lot had occurred between the two of them as well as others.

'Better yet, if your mind's still a little hazy, why don't you just go and ask your precious 'parent' yourself?!'

He…he was wrong. There was no way any of what he said was true. Shadow knew that he was merely deflecting and denying the Commander's testimony, though that didn't translate to it being completely accurate. Besides, he said so himself that he was young! How young, the streaked hedgehog knew not, yet given his current age (assumedly mid-fifties or so, give or take a few years), it must've been young enough to have a potentially overactive imagination.

'Why don't you just go and ask your precious 'parent' yourself?!'

Yes, he knew why the Ark was built and for who. And yes, he knew of the Professor…and whilst Shadow himself couldn't recall ever seeing him at all, he honestly couldn't convince himself that the human was lying about his supposed friendship with Maria. Nor could he refute his suspicions about the incident in Glyphic Canyon.

'…ask your precious 'parent' yourself?!'

The ability to harness the Emerald's energy, knowledge of Maria and the Professor, that in itself was strange, yet Doom had quite literally come out of the sky. He had already shown himself to be more than a little strange. But the urges, the strange waves he experienced where it seemed that the horned being was quite literally a 'part' him, and the blood…it…it didn't mean anything. It didn't mean anything! He wasn't! He WASN'T! The Commander was wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

He was wrong!

'…ask your precious 'parent' yourself?!'

He…he had to be wrong. It wasn't possible.

'…ask your precious 'parent' yourself?!'

He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it! He…he wouldn't accept it. The signs, everything, it…it didn't mean…anything.

'ask…yourself…'

Did it?

'ask…yourself…'

It wouldn't leave him be. No matter what he did, Shadow found himself plagued, no, haunted by the very notion that this couldn't wait. That perhaps, somehow, it wasn't just his long lost memory and recollections that lied with Black Doom. In fact, if the words of the GUN Commander were indeed the truth (and maybe they were, maybe they weren't), then indeed, maybe Doom had ownership in more than just the ruins back down on Earth and the comet drawing closer and closer to the Earth.

And the diamond-cut crystal and amethyst were responding in the direction he was going, while he didn't entirely know for sure, it appeared that sooner or later, before he would attain the full power the stones had to offer, Shadow would come to meet up with Black Doom one more, and perhaps, one final time.

If it hadn't been for him catching the sight of the blue planet below, the Ultimate Lifeform would've probably been going right on by, completely overrun by both the reminiscing of what had led him here as well as to where this particular decision would lead him.

From a high-speed rush to a complete stop, Shadow found himself absolutely, almost hypnotically drawn to the sight: the spinning, massive rock of blues and greens a great distance away, yet the size of the sphere had made such a fact somewhat difficult to grasp. So close, yet so far, he thought as he began making his way into the room, which appeared to be an observational deck of sorts. It was certainly a better view of the planet compared to Tails' shuttle, that was for sure. In fact, from here, dare he say, the floating rock looked near breathtakingly beautiful.

'Are you going to stare out that window all day, Shadow?'

He had been here before too. In fact, even if it was just a hunch he was going off, it was one of his favorite spots in the entire ship. It was no wonder either, even now, whether it was due to the sudden wave of emotion brought upon seeing the Earth or the need for just a small bit of relief from all this chaos, Shadow found that if his hunch had been wrong, it mattered not. He had already decided that this was a prime location to come, regardless.

There was something else that happened here as well. Not with her, Maria, yet the pink one. Amy. It was here that she came to him, her eyes full of terror and tears threatening to escape those vibrant, green orbs.

'Shadow! I beg you!'

Even now, those words stung him. His chest, to his surprise, ached when he heard her tearful words. She was desperately pleading with him on something. Yet why with him?

What had he done to where she would be pleading with him, as if for the lives of someone she held dear? But…but that…that couldn't be-

He stopped his train of thought, two sources of powerful light drawing away his focus. The two Emeralds, he hadn't moved, yet they seemed to sense their at least one of their brethren were drawing closer?

'Is it-'

"There you are."

Shadow's body froze. Yes. Yes it was. But he wasn't afraid. No, he was the Ultimate. He feared no one, and nothing. "Yes. Here I am." Though he didn't turn (and it wasn't because he was in any way afraid), the increasing glow of the Emeralds cemented his initial theory as to where at least some of the others were. And, of course, of all places, they just had to be within his reach, yet not at the same time.

"Well now," Doom began again, the hedgehog detecting a good deal of rage in his tone, though for the time being, puzzlement and curiosity seemed to take the head. "This is quite an unexpected development."

"And that would be?"

The intensity of the wave that came over him alerted Shadow that Doom was in no mood for such talk, yet the weight of this force, whatever it was he had never felt so strongly before. "I'm not here to play games with you." The horned being growled. "If anything, I am the one you should be accommodating to, especially given that until now, you seemed to be on the search for me." He knew Shadow was looking for him. Were his own thoughts really that transparent to him? "Oh, they're MORE than that, Shadow." Doom answered. Had he not been so utterly furious, he would've possibly found the hedgehog's dread somewhat amusing. "And surely you can detect what I'm experiencing as well." A three-digited claw came to grasp the smaller speedster's shoulder. "You are very, VERY fortunate, Shadow. In fact, I believe you fail to realize just how fortunate you are." His grip tightened. Shadow fought the urge to pull away, as the acquisition of whatever Emeralds the alien had on his person was at stake. . "Because frankly, it has taken me some time to ready myself in approaching you without losing my temper." He leaned down, the being's 'mouth' just mere inches from the hedgehog's ear. "You have been quite a troublesome little creature as of late." He continued to approach, Shadow keeping himself in place. "From blatant disobedience, to overall ungratefulness and ill-mannered behavior…oh, and let us not forget the little incident involving the raised temple and its stones that KEPT it afloat."

Indeed, after all that, Shadow found there to be no reason why the devil shouldn't come over and strangle him. Not that he'd be able to, yet still, the fact he hadn't yet, the fact that he hadn't outright tried to go for his head when he destroyed those temple stones…he wanted something from him. There was some sort of goal to be obtained here, and somehow, it involved him in it.

"Yet…" Doom began again, his earlier, seeping anger seeming to decrease. Or be restrained. "As before…perhaps you need a good deal of patience. After all," he paused for a moment, his eyes falling on the planet below. "My and my children's entrance was…rather abrupt. And trust, I take it, is far from a trait you're well versed in."

"Especially when you steal from me!" Shadow had finally had enough, jerking out of Doom's hold and turning to face him.

"I still hold no idea of what you're talking about." Doom stated. "I am not a thief." Shadow, however, was far from buying, still glaring at him. Though, it was obvious that he wasn't going to admit to anything. "And if you are indeed wishing to see me, then you certainly have quite an unorthodox way of showing it. Here I've been, obvious more generous than you deserve-"

"Generous?!" Shadow shouted, now beginning to think even looking for Doom was a bad move on his part. "You're either outright lying or you're really that stupid! At what point have you been-"

"Throughout this entire ordeal!" the horned alien roared, Shadow hating to admit it, yet a wave of fear overtook him. As if some small, hidden away portion he didn't know existed was alerting him that he shouldn't speak to him in such a way. Someone who was…above him? "At the very start, before our very dwelling had come closer to that planet, I came to you and you alone!" he bellowed, any and all sort of restraint gone. "I presented you with knowledge that displayed that I held the answers to what you wanted! Even more, I presented you with one of those hidden away memories at the very beginning! And if not for your stunt in the city in running off, you would've gained another! I only saw fit to grant you a sliver of another due to your efforts at the temple in Glyphic Canyon!" he hollered, Shadow readying himself as it seemed that those hands of his could reach out anytime and strangle him. "Throughout the ENTIRITY of my time here, with caring for my children and catering to their needs as well as readying them and myself for the ritual to take place, with THOSE Emeralds at the forefront of it no less, I have been watching over and observing you! Watching and guiding, protecting, and if you weren't so stubborn and rebellious, willing to provide you with exactly what you wanted! Is that not generous?!"

Yet just as it seemed he was about to grab him, about to wrap his hands around the hedgehog's neck…his hands lowered. Long, heavy breaths exited from the horned, legless creature, apparently having been cleansed of something he had been keeping inside for some time. "Yet…I reiterate. You…are a difficult case. But not impossible." He leant in closer, anger still evident, yet it was trying to be hidden away. "Even the most hardened of walls can be broken down. For the better."

For the better…he was angry still, downright furious, yet his decision to not follow through with working out his rage puzzled Shadow immensely. Certainly, something was at stake here that allowed him to even keep so calm, all things considering. That only confused the hedgehog even more. Still…even with that said, begrudgingly and only because there was no one else that could, he had found who he was initially looking for.

"Answer me something." He began, Doom tilting his large head slightly, as if expecting something else to come after it. If he was waiting for him to say 'please' then he had better be as patient as he claimed to be with him. "How you knew where I was, in that pod, and what happened regarding the Doctor's latest attempts in world conquest…there's far more to it than just having 'watched' me, isn't there?"

Doom didn't respond, yet he didn't protest against it either. If anything, it seemed he was silently urging Shadow to continue. Waiting to reveal some huge, monumental answer for himself.

"If you're supposedly so smart and all knowing, then you'd know that GUN is here as well." To this, Doom did nod. "I found him, the Commander." Well, rather he found him, yet the results were the same. Besides, after everything that happened before, Shadow, both out of a now growing loathing for the organization and general sense of self-preservation (though he argued it was simply because they were not as important), would never consider seeking any one of them out personally.

Upon hearing that he had encountered the head of the organization, Doom found himself rather regretful he couldn't go into the details of his knowledge regarding that individual. It actually brought him some reprieve from the frustration of this entire situation. Little Abraham…though he was far from 'little' anymore. Even more surprising of what the child had decided his occupation should be. 'My oh my…' he thought to himself. 'I DO wonder who influenced that decision…'

"I know his name now. The Professor." Shadow clarified, the Doctor and the Professor, despite the similar titles, were two entirely different people. At least one of them, he knew for sure what he felt about. "The Commander of GUN…he said that you and he…he said that he saw-" he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to. Even with all the evidence there, it…it couldn't be. Impossible.

"He saw me." He didn't need to finish. Doom did it for him. "And he saw correctly."

Shadow's eyes widened, mouth struggling to form words. This…this meant that he-

"Even now, you remember little." Doom told him. "And aside from the brief moment your eyes opened and saw my figure behind the glass, that was all you saw of me. And like the other, several times you awoke prematurely, those memories seeped back into your subconscious. But yes." He leaned in closer. "I came to this planet for my children. ALL of them."

Shadow found himself shaking his head. He didn't want to believe it; he outright refused to believe it at first. And yet…all that he had experienced, all that he had seen…he was running out of options. He suspected it, given from the sound of a gun going off and the distress in his voice from that image, yet still, he found himself actually wanting to hold out. To see for himself if she was really…gone "So…Maria…she's-"

"She's no longer here among the living." Black Doom immediately finished for him. If it wasn't for the information Shadow received being so heavy at that moment, then maybe he would've taken note of how the alien seemed rather…angered at the mention of her name. Anger that was directed to her, in some way, as if she had somehow slighted or wronged him. "She and the rest that were here on the Ark…save for a select few are all gone." Observing Shadow, he seemed more or less distressed by this knowledge. True, he surely would've come to know it, as a possibility by now, surely, yet having it confirmed by more than one witness this was his chance. "The atrocities done here…that was what this planet, these humans did. All out of fear of something that they didn't understand."

This…it still stung. It still hurt, yet…yes. Shadow knew this. He…he was taken away, or sent away somewhere. No, not that. He was…dropped? Yet…that didn't look like the image of when he associated himself with nearly dying. No, that was related to something else.

'Give them a chance to be happy.'

'Shadow, I beg you!'

Though it then also occurred to him. Amidst the shock and now stinging pain in his chest, Shadow was still confused about one thing. "Where…where do YOU fall into all of this?"

He was going to ask that, of course, yet still, not yet. He was so close. Four, they possessed already, and while they would need all seven, six would do for now. Oh, with the cannon, it would do more than enough for now. "Do you really want to know?"

"Don't play with me!" Shadow demanded, though despite him trying to make himself appear serious, his response bore some desperation in it. "I am NOT allowing these days of chasing dead ends and running around to amount to nothing! You tell me all that you know! Now!"

For such a response, he should've been slighted for that. Indeed, he would need much discipline. Something of which Black Death brought up once.

'Why do you not connect him to your consciousness? The hive mind, like the rest of your brood?'

'It's the same motive as that old man, Death. I want to experiment.'

'What is there to experiment? You have all these children here at your beck and call, and they are devoted to you! I…even if I'm not tied as they are, is not my being here enough for you?'

'…you couldn't possibly understand. You cannot produce this lot as I. If he can…if I can establish a connection…then, will I truly have what I seek.'

'And…if not?'

'…there is always an alternative for that too. My blood, is the backup measure.'

He remembered well relaying that to Death, as well as his declaration.

'She will see for herself that her words hold no power. She's just a foolish child who knows nothing.' Quieter, under his breath and hidden away from Death, he muttered, 'She's just a piece of rotting, diseased meat is all. Nothing more. She won't change what's been set into motion.'

Yes…and so far, despite the evident setbacks, he could still work this in his favor. "And you shall." Doom answered, Shadow, despite his still evident frustration, actually surprised by this. "All of it." He paused though, extending his hand. "But surely, you remember what our bargain was."

Bargain? Was he seriously…no. No, absolutely not. Not now, not ever would he ever consider…wait. What was happening?

"All you have to do is hand me the two you have. The last will be accounted for later."

Two…he knew the exact amount. And...his hand was reaching upward, Emerald in hand.

"What's the matter?" Doom asked, hand still outstretched, empty and ready to be filled.

Shadow, he…what was he even doing?! If he handed them to him…with what he did know so far…what would happen? Something was happening. "Why DO you need them in the first place? Answer me that. You seemed rather capable of going around yourself, and those thousand or so Arms seemed fine with simply falling from the sky. If anything, what use would you have for Chaos Control at all?"

Doom was silent. In fact, it seemed that he outright didn't count on that question being asked. Yet still…he would find out in good time. And by that time, he would accept it. He would make sure of it. She…that stupid girl…she wouldn't win!

"You'll get what you ask for. What you've begun this journey to find out. Isn't that what you want?"

Shadow was about to reply, yet once again, found his hand beginning to twitch. Better yet, he found his hand beginning to clutch onto the Emerald in his right hand, and the arm attached to that hand begin to lift up. Up towards Doom's.

"This…what are you…" he felt this before. At the temple…this wasn't good! What was going on?! "What are you doing! Stop it!"

"It's all right, Shadow." Doom urged, eyes hungrily, greedily eyeing the stone. "Soon, everything will be as it should."

"Yeah, it will. Once you're taken out of the picture." A sudden voice broke through the unwanted sensations and urgings Shadow was experiencing, this unexpected intrusion breaking Doom's concentration and both he and Shadow looking back. Sonic stood in the doorway of the observation deck, a single Emerald in his hand, casually tossing it up and down.

"You!" Doom shouted. "Those Soldiers were supposed to have taken care of you!

"Yeah, you haven't been around long here, have you?" Sonic shot back. "It's kind of a standard procedure: bad guy wants to take over island, country, world, it alternates. Though mostly world nowadays. And he sends his goons out to try and put a stop to someone who just has a teensy little problem with his plan and would actually not mind just sitting down and working it out peacefully." He shrugged then. "Course that's sort of the BORING way, both on my and their parts, but eh, no sense in making a mountain out of a molehill. Am I right?"

"Enough!" Doom ordered, Shadow having seen more than enough now to make a clear decision. As much as the desire to know still plagued him. "You are not allowed to take part in this endeavor! Leave!"

"Aw, you're saying this is a private party?" Sonic pouted. "That is way past NOT cool, Big Boss." Even if getting a rise out of him was great, that wasn't the reason he came here, said reason giving him a rather inquisitive look.

"As much as I've come to loathe your company," Shadow began to back away from Doom, of whom was far from pleased. "I take it that you being here has more to it than just throwing around petty insults."

"Actually, yes." Sonic answered, his tone actually turning rather serious. "The Chaotix discovered something pretty handy in the Ark's files." He then looked to Doom, green, vibrant eyes narrowing. "Apparently, according to the guy who built this place, Big Boss here's been wanting to use them to transport his comet to the Earth! And not only that," a gloved finger pointed right to him. "He's planning on giving each and every one of those creeps he's got with him a person to munch on!"

Silence rang through the observation deck, the two hedgehogs staring down the horned alien. Indeed, now everything had been revealed, his true intentions for collecting the Emeralds. And from the looks of it, this far from looked good on his part.

"Oh dear." Doom suddenly spoke again, though rather calm and simply shaking his head, disappointed. Even with all that had been revealed…still…there was a way to work this in his favor. "And here I thought I would only have to discipline one of you." his eyes began glowing, four Emeralds then coming out and revolving around him. "Yet now, it seems that I'll have to do more than that." He then looked to Sonic, his hidden jowls beginning to slightly grow moist. "At the very least, I hope that adrenaline you adore so much provides extra flavor, blue rat!"

 **Note: Believe or not, this was intended to be Chapter 3, yet going over everything again, I decided to extend and go more into the events that lead up to this point, as some things, especially given what'll happen later, needed more information. Anyhow, I'm so sorry for the long wait, as it's been a bit hectic with moving into a new place and no internet for a week. All the same, here's hoping this will suffice, the prologue's almost over and the true story can begin! Thank you all and here's hoping I see you soon! Let me know of any errors you see that I missed! Thanks!**


	6. Catalyst of Convergence Part 6

**Note: Hey guys! Episode 7 of Missing Episodes is finally done, so I could get to working on this again! I'm sorry if this particular chapter seems a little slower, yet I wanted to get some stuff out of the way, as well as build up to how this small pre-journey ends in a way that'll lead up to the actual story, given this is sort of a rewrite of 'Shadow the Hedgehog' as well. An AU/Canon Divergence if you will (it's a category on Archive of Our Own). Also, I've taken some bits and pieces of lore from the Archie Comics to give an indication of just how long Doom's race has been doing this sort of thing, and even more, how he in turn has taken to seeing it.**

 **Here's hoping you enjoy! I predict around 2-4 more chapters for this 'prologue' of sorts before the 'real story' begins.**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence Part 6**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

A wave of his three-digited hand with the action transferring to the large, dark brown sleeve of his robes, the familiar light of orange that formed at the ends of his fingers alerted both hedgehogs what Doom's would properly greet the newest arrival with.

Or rather, they had believed that would be the case.

Readying himself to make a dash on the opposite side of the room to give the horned demon more than a good enough taste of his shoe, Sonic and Shadow as well found that in place of a Black Doom just moments away from releasing the gathered energy in his fingertips, the alien had instead gained yet another attribute to his form.

And whilst he wasn't still entirely too sure what this red hue engulfing the being meant, Sonic could immediately link to a rather significant event that took place prior.

'No time like the present.' The blue hedgehog concluded. 'Usually the best time anyway.' With a turn of his heel and a kick off the wall, the Fastest Thing Alive had raised the opposite leg in front of him, the side of his tell-tale red shoe set to make direct contact with the area he intended to strike before. Perhaps he'd even contact that big eye of his if he was lucky. At the very least, he knew for certain that the invader used that particular one for sight no doubt.

"Wait! Don't- "

It was useless, just about as useless as he had been in that brief time before whatever Doom was trying to pull was interrupted, yet Shadow couldn't stop the warning from leaving his lips. And as he predicted, it turned out to be for naught, as the moment Sonic was sure he'd feel the sensation of Doom's bizarrely shaped face contorting and twisting from the impact of his kick, he found that the hardened, thick surface of reinforced glass had met him instead.

Wincing somewhat in pain and the impact reverberating throughout his body, Sonic had still managed to make a decent landing. "What the world was that?" he questioned aloud, attempting to massage away the developing pain, though his touch had to be far gentler than initially suspected. "That didn't look a thing like Chaos Control."

"Because it wasn't." his darker rival answered, even if, and he knew that it wouldn't last long, he was more than a little relieved that Black Doom had momentarily disappeared. "He has alternate methods of teleportation, independent of using the Emeralds' power." True, it was something that he should've bore nothing positive for, yet the sudden release experienced from whatever thrall the being was casting came at just the right time. Either way, Shadow mentally declared, it wouldn't happen again.

"Well, you should've spoken up sooner!" Sonic remarked, standing upright. "I've only met the guy once, so who knows what all he can do."

"Oh, I can do MORE than that."

Whirling around, both the Fastest Thing Alive and Ultimate Lifeform found that such an action wasn't even necessary. He hadn't even moved but a few inches away from his former position. And even better, given where they both now stood, the three-eyed extraterrestrial hovered right in front of them both, the hand still holding back the concentrated Chaos Energy still surging with orange light and more than ready to be released.

"I suppose, as you creatures say down on that floating ball of dirt," as before, Doom raised his arm up high, staring daggers down at the two smaller beings below. "You've seen NOTHING as of yet!"

 **Ark's Power Plant (a la The 'Computer Room')**

'You know…maybe this place is just a smidge too big to be called a single room.'

Whatever the case, ultimately, he was here now, so there was little use in pondering over whatever terminology was better fitting his current location. The continuous strings of green lights that lit up the entire chamber along the walls had steadily become too much for Vector's eyes to handle, situating his focus on the various, far less colorful structures situated in a square-like formation in the very center. Though he himself wasn't entirely too sure that this was case, as up until now, the crocodile didn't even fathom he'd be here in a place like this, let alone above the planet itself, yet from the series of thick cables and an ever present, blue hue emitting from a small rectangular area on each structure, Vector deduced that these things bore at least some degree of importance. In fact, upon studying them further, he could've sworn that these small towers in particular were somewhat familiar.

"Ah, of course!" the large, green reptile openly declared, slamming his fist into his open palm to further signify his memory jog. "These must be the main data storages for the entire Ark!" well, yes, otherwise why else would it have been stationed in the Computer Room? But then again, he knew that all along. It wasn't as if Espio's warning about paying attention to the schematic shown to them before they had been sent here were coming back to him as if to mock his sudden realization. He had been paying PLENTY attention!

"zzt-ector."

After all, if not for him, it would've been near, not, completely impossible for Shadow to have even been able to accompany him here in the first place! It wasn't as if he had ever been here before!

"Ve-zzt-or!"

And also, due to how strange and out of it the black hedgehog had been behaving, he probably would've up and forgotten about finding the Computer Room at all had the Master Detective not been at his side to oh-so-kindly and efficiently redirect him!

"VEC-zt-TOR!"

Oh shoot! How long had that thing been going off!? Fumbling around for a moment with the belt around his slim waist (as really, where else was there he could've put it?), Vector pulled the small communicator from its place and adjusted his headphones to allow the small device a place by his earhole. "Y-Yes!" he immediately answered after adjusting the frequency. "Read you loud and clear Espio! What's been keeping you?"

The chameleon went silent for a moment.

"You're not fooling anyone!" a far younger voice declared through the speaker, greatly amused by his boss's attempt to maintain a sense of professionalism.

"No one asked you, Charmy!" Vector retorted, this only earning him a raspberry from the adolescent insect. Thankfully though, the communicator was quickly snatched away from the child and Espio was put back on.

"Please tell that at the very least, you've found it."

"Of course I found it!" Vector declared, puffing out his scaly chest in pride. "And even better, none of those Black Arm guys have made it in here!"

Well, at the very least, there was one positive about this current mission, Espio thought to himself. Though of all people to have somehow snagged themselves a better position than he at this moment…

"By the way, how are things going on your end?"

The shinobi's low sigh didn't manage to be heard through the speaker, yet Vector registered that at very least, the bout of silence he received in turn was more than enough to signify that not all was well.

"For the most part, the Ark's systems are secure and not too much has been lost, yet there's still a good degree of files that can't be accessed."

"Such as?"

"Well for one," Espio began, "There's a series of video logs that belong to the Professor that oversaw this place that are unable to be accessed. Even hacking into it is proving to be quite a difficult challenge, even for me." The communicator phased out for a small moment before clearing up again. Despite being a location filled to the brim with state-of-the-art technological advances, Vector found that the reception, at least from his current location, wasn't exactly the best. "There's so much here that simply isn't present either."

Isn't present? As in gone?

"Given the…'condition' of this place now thanks to the creatures' presence, I don't know of their current state, yet I'm sure you've noticed several security cameras stationed all over the ship, yes?" Vector was about to answer, yet apparently it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as Espio went and continued on without his input. "They're mostly inaccessible as well, yet from a particular date to now, there are several recordings that are either completely corrupted or are outright missing. And even more, it seems to mainly be records dating back fifty or so years ago."

The crocodile's already present befuddlement only continued to increase, though his fellow detective's report had indeed alerted him of more than a few updates to deliver to their current employers. Though then again, there was something else that had struck him as quite peculiar.

"Well, whatever can't be extracted, we can at least make sure it's protected." Vector answered. "You two ARE in a secure location, right?"

"As secure as anywhere else. We may not have what we were hired to obtain, but as of now, the entire layout of the ship along with access to door functions and main devices is in our hands." Espio responded. "Though given GUN's rate of 'success' in dealing with those creatures, it may not matter where we are as there'd be minor difference."

He was somewhat thankful he wasn't here to see it, yet Vector couldn't suppress the sudden wash of dread that forced his features to contort to its whim. 'Did you have to go and spout something like THAT out?' "Well," he began, attempting to divert the conversation to at least ending on a semi-positive note. "Just keep in touch and keep alert. Besides, now that Sonic's here, things might be looking up for all of us now."

"Sonic?" Espio questioned.

"Uh, yeah." Vector answered, puzzled.

"I thought Shadow was the one that you met up with."

"Well, yeah, he went with me here. Though I don't think it was because he was looking for the Computer Room. Why?"

"You don't sound too certain about his being here as something beneficial. Any particular reason as to why?"

Though no one was there to see him, Vector couldn't help but uncomfortably avert his eyes away from the communicator, his mind attempting to conjure and string together an appropriate response. Besides, it wasn't as if Espio was here to inquire him further.

"Vector?" yet even so, perhaps his input might've been enough to at least settle some of his own growing doubts. "Vector!"

"Yeah, I hear you! No need to scream in my ear!"

"No, that's my job!"

"Give me that, Charmy."

A small bit of shuffling was heard emitting from the communicator before it had, presumably, went back into the hands of its rightful owner. "Anyway," Vector began. "I don't know what exactly is up with him, but I think he might be in some sort of trouble with our client."

Though he couldn't see it, Espio had raised a brow at that. "What sort of trouble?"

"Don't know. But Shadow told me he was going to make those alien guys pay, so maybe it's just some misunderstanding." The crocodile paused, as if going over what he had just told his fellow Chaotix member. "Either way, keep in touch and keep Charmy from touching anything."

That was at least something that needed no second thought. "Will do. Over and out."

And with that, the communicator went silent, the head detective placing the small device back in its proper place and folding his arms across his thick, scaled chest, the light tapping of his foot echoing throughout the expansive, chilled chamber that housed the entirety of the Ark's data records. As well as the Chaos Emerald that had motivated Shadow in even accompanying him here.

Strange. It was indeed very, very strange. In fact, he found himself pondering on whether it was even wise to allow the darkly colored hedgehog to even leave with the Emerald in the first place.

The possibility of contacting their current clients had come to mind, if not to simply ask a few needed questions, yet that also left Vector to ponder that, had Shadow indeed been in some sort of conflict with GUN, what business did he have in fighting against those Black Arm creatures either? And ultimately, while perhaps it wasn't his initial goal, he technically DID assist Vector in locating the Computer Room.

Still, despite that, it didn't exactly put Vector's doubts to rest.

Well, whatever, he thought. There was nothing that could've been done about it now, and at the very least, things seemed to be looking up, finally. There was probably nothing to worry about, everything would turn out fine in the end. After all, it despite their current separation and those creatures running around the ship, it wasn't as if they were left entirely defenseless! It wasn't as if they could simply smash their way through doors that thick!

 **Elsewhere**

Just mere inches away from making contact, both hedgehogs leapt back out of the way of the incoming flares, though given their current position, they both found that the larger, horned invader had been steadily forcing them closer and closer to the walls. Not exactly impossible, yet Sonic and Shadow had to gage where exactly their exits were in order to avoid whatever their aggressor planned next.

Granted, this wasn't to say that the two of them were entirely helpless. If anything, the fact that there was one more added to the equation had made the alien's strikes against them all the more aggressive and precise. A far cry from the swift retreats he had employed before. Before when his army was almost always a few feet away or the Ultimate Lifeform was on his lonesome.

And whilst Shadow could only technically theorize, the possibility still rung more than plausible, especially now. Even more, for reasons even he held no explanation for, yet the sight of the taller, legless being before he and Sonic brought forth images of someone else he had contended with not long prior.

Why though? They bore no such connection aside from the old human knowing of Doom's existence, and there was quite literally no likeness between them. Still, this bizarre comparison persisted, even amidst the situation Shadow had found himself plunged into.

"Yo, look sharp!" Sonic called out, his line of sight directed at Doom's large, dark skinned hands.

At first, judging from the swish of his long sleeve and the familiar orange hue that began to develop at the ends of his three digits, it was assumed that Black Doom was performing the same maneuver as before, something of which struck both as odd, yet all the same. After all, what use was there complaining if the enemy was going to make things simple for them?

"It just occurred to me," Doom began, both hedgehogs finding it hardly at time to give a speech. Then again, neither were planning on stopping him. Even when the devil's third eye centered on his forehead directed its gaze directly on the cerulean youth to the left. "This is beginning to play out very similarly to our visit to Thoraxia."

The thought was tempting, the simple allowance to silently tell the alien to keep on talking was just mere moments away from coming to his mind, yet with all that occurred prior to this very point, Shadow found that even such a simple luxury as that was potentially dangerous. Even more, while he attempted to keep it silent and as concealed as possible, somehow, he suspected that Doom would somehow know. Those golden eyes, bare of anything save for a vibrantly colored scalera, despite their lack of detail, still found some sort of way to indicate more than enough to him simply by the way they seemed to slightly shift in their sockets, despite their lack of pupils.

"Thoraxia, huh?" Sonic responded, peridot orbs shifting somewhat uncomfortably, yet the smirk he brought to his peach muzzle helped to keep himself cool, in more sense than one. "Sounds like a nice place. What is it, like a vacation spot you guys visit when you're passing through?"

Even with lacking any features, save for eyes, Shadow found that there was something occurring just below the two lifeless orbs of yellow, right where the dark folds of coarse skin met in the middle. While the themselves seemed to be as still as they had always appeared to be in previous encounters with the horned alien, the hedgehog's red eyes picked up that some sort of fluid was beginning to form at the base of those folds. And whilst he himself could only theorize, Shadow couldn't help but acknowledge that the developing moisture, whatever it was, seemed to bear some resemblance to saliva.

Black Doom, on the other hand, appeared to be completely oblivious of the other hedgehog, his focus seemingly directed solely on the blue intruder that up and invited himself into his affairs. "Given of what you now know of our true intentions, then I suppose, yes. You could indeed call it that." Neither Sonic or Shadow said a word, continuing to allow Doom to go on about this previously unheard of planet. The fact that they were here right now, conversing with an alien overlord so casually was something that neither of them would've suspected they'd be doing at this very moment. "My arrival to this ball of dirt has perhaps already allowed you to begin to grasp it, yet this…planet," the being sneered, as if having to even address the Earth as such was only done out of necessity. "Along with this entire solar system is far from the only one in this vast abyss of stars and galaxies. And whilst thousands of spheres of filth hold conditions that render it inhabitable, there are just as many that hold some form of living, breathing sack of meat upon their surface." He paused, the upper eye still situated on Sonic, yet the other two, whilst unmoving, appeared to be getting somewhat lost. Lost and distant in this brief period of recollection that, compared to before, had actually been viewed in a far more positive light. "And with each secular passing, no matter the civilization's supposed advancements or the displays of their self-proclaimed intelligence, each and every one of them had been essential and vital in providing us with one of the most basic, yet ultimately, most fulfilling and necessary of all of life's needs." The eyes then shifted to their still lifeless, yet more alert appearance, having decided that any reflection on those times would simply have to wait. "And I would assume I wouldn't need to explain to you what those are, yes?"

"Yeah, no. We kind of got all that already." Sonic remarked. "Give me some slack, Big Boss. I'm no expert in interstellar travel, but this is far from the first time I've paid a visit to space."

'The first time?' Shadow pondered, Doom still continuing to talk.

"It's something of a fantastically humorous irony really," Doom continued. "As while most of the insectoid creatures inhabiting this floating rock, particularly those you refer to as 'ants', are of far less brain capacity than some of their more extraterrestrial brethren, the bipedal bags of flesh and organs that dominate it almost resemble the general populous of Thoraxia perfectly."

Sonic quirked his brow. "So, what you're saying is that these guys were like giant ants?"

"More or less. Blodex, they are called. They still bore the same form and similar parts, though their size and ability to stand and walk upright made them at least somewhat superior to the small vermin located down below." The moisture was steadily increasing, though it wasn't nearly enough to be spilling over, yet Shadow could now see that it was beginning to gain a faint shade of white. "Yet perhaps they are better off. They know their place and don't attempt to divert from it." He growled. "And like the Blodex, the lumps of flesh on that planet, even as we came by the hundreds, our Comet incoming ever and ever closer, they had their heroes and idols they clung to, strongly held and practically spellbound by the overpowering delusion that in some way, those individuals and things would lead to their salvation from what was inevitable."

The curt, confident smirk that had once plastered Sonic's features steadily began to falter, teeth beginning to tighten and grind against each other as the horned devil relayed more in such a matter of fact, dare he say, casual manner.

"Aypex was his name, I believe." Black Doom stated, the small collection of moisture ever increasing, yet it didn't appear to be transitioning into where the amount of it would be little more than drool seeping down from the hidden orifice, if that was indeed where it was coming from. Or perhaps, Shadow thought, it wasn't spittle after all. Perhaps, maybe, it was something…physical that was the source of the moisture. "Aypex, the Liberator, they called him. You're most likely unaware, yet a small century or two ago, Thoraxia was amid quite a ferocious civil war. Not amongst themselves, yet another dominant species populating the planet, of which you could compare to that of the flying insects that collect nectar."

Sonic didn't particularly like the look Shadow had, even if he wasn't entirely sure why, let alone what exactly he was looking at, as from his viewpoint, the big guy hadn't gotten any prettier in the last few moments. If anything, with all he was hearing now, he was growing downright uglier.

"And the names of these guys were?" Sonic questioned. Just a little more. At least until he could form something of a strategy.

"They are nearly extinct. They may already be. Either way, their defeat to them of all things makes them of little worth remembering." Doom simply replied, his eyes ever watchful. "Believing they were the only species that was worthy to have flight, they began to enslave the Blodex and treat them as little more than property. Eventually, one amongst them decided that they had lost patience with their living conditions and decided to raise a coup against his and his people's oppressors. The coup was a success, and in honor of their valiant hero, after his untimely death not long after from a wound delivered by their oppressor's queen herself, they constructed a statue in his name, a testament that no matter what sort of adversity should befall their people, the Blodex, so long as they remembered their liberator's battle and sacrifice, they would be able to summon his strength and defeat anything that should dare attempt to lay waste to their people."

The moisture, or rather, the source of it was still ever present, yet Shadow's focus lay in the sudden movement of the area it had been originating from. And this time, Sonic too could no longer ignore it. They were faint, barely noticeable at first, yet the flaps of skin that concealed whatever lay beneath began to twitch slightly, the distance between them steadily growing more and more as they slowly spread apart. Something, some sort of hidden orifice of sorts was being opened.

"Cool story," Sonic stated, though beneath the small, curt smile he bore rested a set of teeth grinding in anger. "Though I doubt you'd be saying any of this if these guys had preferably kicked you and your ugly bunch to the curb."

The devil's eyes narrowed, the flaps continuing to part, the moisture seen to not only coat the bottom of what was presumably his 'neck', yet also the inner parts of where these flaps lay, something coming to be seen only partially, yet there was no mistaking it. It was the source of the slick, wet substance, or whatever it was coming from being concealed inside.

"Their resolve did nothing. Their battle cries and their prayers to their deities did nothing. The hundreds that threw themselves at the feet of their glorious memorial to their legendary defender and liberator did nothing! The fate of their people and their homeland had been decided!" a three-fingered hand shot forward and snatched the blue hedgehog, firmly grasping down and applying pressure directly on the hero's forehead. "Just as it has been decided for this planet, and for all of you."

Sonic's eyes turned towards Shadow for a moment as his struggles against the alien's hold began to grow, puzzled and frustrated as to why, after having assumedly joined with him in attacking Doom, did he now just suddenly decide to stay still and simply watch as he was about to do God knew what to him?! He could make his way out of this, nothing had been successful in stopping him before, yet the sudden shift in behavior and lack of reaction was more than a little off-putting to Sonic. Dare he say, a little unnatural.

He could get out of this! He could! He could get out of anything! This mantra, alterations aside, had been what assisted in Sonic increasing his struggling against the horned being's grip, yet so far, it seemed to have only done little to no good in Shadow's own escape from Doom's more 'subtle' grip. He wasn't exactly ready to ask to help, at least not yet, though Shadow's unresponsiveness had made him consider when his pride would give out.

"I just remembered." Black Doom suddenly spoke again, the flaps having spread further apart now. "There's a part of that little story that slipped my mind. And really, it's rather hilarious it did, blue rat." as if to emphasize, his clawed digits forced themselves down on Sonic's scalp, almost to where the young hedgehog could've sworn that he was seconds away from breaking the skin. "You remind me so much of one particular member of the now dying race."

Move…come on, move! His feet only shifted and his legs even less. His very arms were locked in place save for frantically twitching fingers. Two Emeralds in his grasp and he was still just as helpless before!

"There was one Blodex insect that had insisted on facing me head on. Apparently before Aypex had passed on, he had children of his own, and thus a 'hero's bloodline' as they called it was born throughout the future generations. This individual had thought it both appropriate and a guarantee for victory that he approach and attempt to best me in combat."

Practically immobile and with the Emeralds finally in his grasp! It was nearly more than he could bear! In fact, if he could've garnered enough energy at that point, Shadow would've potentially rivaled Knuckles himself in his red fury!

Red fury…that particular phrase stuck out to him, the reason for it escaped him.

Red…energy? Energy…yes. Yes, yes, yes! That was it! And not just any energy either! In fact, he had more than enough now to where it'd potentially be more powerful than before! Though he'd have to act fast. Not too much, but just enough.

He would have to teeter that line carefully.

"He had believed that somehow, his relation to his race's hero would be enough to drive my children away from their feasting. That their gods would deliver unto him the strength that would allow him to best me and claim my head. He claimed that 'this day would be marked as a triumph in his people's history', and I suppose, in some ways, it was." Sonic growled, yet his vocal defiance was cut off by the creature thrusting his head upward to where the being's three eyes were all he could focus on, the other hand having taken to pulling back on his blue quills to keep him in place. "It was the first public execution the Blodex had seen since their days of enslavement, as well as the others who thought they could stand against us! And now, it seems that history will repeat itself yet again!"

The source of the developing moisture had finally been presented, and at first, Sonic had little idea to what he was even seeing. While yes, Black Doom and the rest of his hoard were technically 'out of this world', and thus, how they were built and where certain bits and pieces he was familiar with went would probably be rendered or shaped differently. Heck, it was also likely that they either had extra of some or none of something at all. Yet what was before him, while he had a good enough idea as to what it was, it was still difficult to comprehend that what he was seeing was some sort of 'mouth'. Stationed in the center between the spread apart flaps of dark skin and vertical, the bizarre orifice had too begun to open itself, whatever lay beneath it now free to fully allow the fluids attached to it to run down the sides of the horned being's 'face'. Sonic couldn't exactly gage what he was seeing, let alone what whatever he believed it to be was even for, yet whatever it was, it seemed to nearly consume the entirety of the inside of Doom's 'mouth', as if it were tightly packed up in an area that, while it could fit, it was ultimately a tight squeeze. Either that, or he had been keeping it, whatever it was, up and ready to use the entire time. Regardless, the strange, wriggling apparatus jut moments away from being released from its holding place, and while Sonic held no idea as to what it truly was, let alone what it was even more, he wasn't overly anxious to discover it either.

Yet the moment to where he'd come to truly see what this strange mucus covered, worm-like appendage was far never came. Though that wasn't to say what followed was exactly in Sonic's favor.

Shadow could sense it. It had always been present, yet now that Doom had caught onto what he was attempting to do, what had once been comparable to a heavy stone weighing down on his temples had magnified to that of an entire mountain. He had already begun to feel the Chaos Energy slipping away, his teeth grinding and brows creasing as he tried to desperately keep it from leaving.

"Ch…!" he couldn't even get the words out, his own tongue seemed set on going against him! It was growing increasingly more and more difficult to even hold concentration on what he was even doing, let alone why he was attempting to perform the recently learned of skill in the first place. As if his own mind had a will of its own. "Chaos…"

'You fool!' Doom inwardly screeched, the mental proclamation near deafening to Shadow despite it only being a projected thought, yet he couldn't afford to stop.

"Chaos…!" now or never. Yet it hurt. It hurt so bad. His brain was practically on fire! Fire, burning…burning buildings. Yes…this, this was somehow helping. Burning buildings, cars and other vehicles set ablaze and rendered completely useless in the invasion's wake…the entrapment of that circle formed by the GUN troops. Weapons drawn…trapped. In the city, then in the Ark, in here. Here with Doom and Sonic as before.

'It wasn't intentional.'

"BLAST!"

 **One of the Ark's Control Centers**

"So, there's nothing that's been tampered with? Nothing at all?"

"Nothing, Commander." The violet chameleon answered through the communicator, the usual calm in his tone betraying his shifting golden eyes as they kept watch over the hyperactive insect accompanying him. "Nothing outside of the logs of the security cameras, and some of Professor Robotnik's audio journals."

A period of silence fell between the two of them, Espio unable to see it, yet given the older man's adamancy in recovering all that could be found from the Ark's files, such news wasn't exactly what he was wishing to hear.

"We ARE working on accounting for what's available, however. And what isn't, we're working on cracking the code to getting there."

"Yeah!" Charmy enthusiastically proclaimed. "We've got loads of stuff already!"

Though it would've made little difference given the bee's volume, Espio was somewhat grateful that his current client couldn't see the growing annoyance developing on his features. "If I may ask, sir, what do you wish for us to do with what is current accessible?"

A low sigh emitted from the communicator's speaker. "There's absolutely no way that you can do a simple 'copy and paste' of all that's there. This ship runs on several banks of data that'd fill even the best of storage units with less than a quarter of what's kept in just one." There was disappointment in his voice, that was for certain, and while it was far from unreasonable for there to also be frustration, the reptilian detective couldn't help but register a small bit of bitterness seeping into the Commander's voice. "If there's anything I can give him credit for, the old coot that built this place at least knew what he was doing."

"Well, rest assured, sir." Espio replied, "Vector's already arrived at the Ark's Power Plant, so as of now, the ship's data is in our protection."

"Good." The human answered back." Something's going our way for a change. Keep your positions, and we'll be there to collect you."

Since his last bout of input, Charmy had relatively been allowing his mind and focus to wander off, specifically due to how Espio made it quite clear from the glare he delivered that he was to keep himself under control during this conversation with their client. What for, the insect held no idea. It wasn't as if he had said anything wrong! Heck, he hadn't even broken anything in here! He had only whacked the computer once, and that was what allowed him and Espio to discover the video log that helped them discover what those Black Arm guys were even up to!

'Then again, maybe that's why it was so staticy and all jumbled up.'

And this place WAS fifty years old, so how anything was still working at all here was surprising enough to the small bee.

"Before I go," the insect's stripped antennae twitched. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. You said that your colleague had found the Power Plant, right?"

"Does he mean the Computer Room?" Charmy asked, though Espio didn't bother to answer.

"Yes, he has." Espio answered. "And it's still secure."

"Yes, I know. That isn't exactly what I mean." There was a brief pause, Charmy anxiously observing the chameleon's facial features whilst said chameleon was busy mentally stringing together his answer for what would inevitably be asked of him. "Did he happen to see a certain individual on his way there? An individual by the name of Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Silence fell over the small, compact space the insect and reptile occupied, the former only growing more confused to the latter's discomfort. The moment the bee's lips parted to speak, Espio raised his gloved hand in a motion to keep silent.

"But why- "

He kept his hand up, though this time it clenched into a fist. Not in a threat to strike him, yet to further cement the importance that the adolescent keep himself quiet.

"Not that I'm aware of." Espio told him. "Is there any particular reason as to why his presence would be of concern?"

Another low sigh emitted from the human. "Let's just say that we have some suspicions that he may…" another pause. "Or may not potentially be involved with the Black Arms."

Involved? Involved in what way?

"Look, you're clearly busy, and your services are greatly appreciated, yet news of his whereabouts are crucial to perhaps preventing any more damage. Therefore, if you've seen him anywhere, even if you've just heard of him in passing, you are to alert me the moment you either see or receive such information. Is that understood?"

Charmy simply floated there, his small wings continually beating their rhythmic hum as the supported their owner. Espio's golden eyes shifted for a moment, yet his silence wouldn't be taken for an answer, he knew that much.

What was about to leave his mouth would, under most circumstances, been declared unwise, if not an outright betrayal to the honor that the way of the ninja was fundamentally based on. Then again, after this was over, the Chaotix's service under GUN would end, so his loyalty had been numbered since the very beginning.

"Currently, we have no idea where Shadow is, yet if we do receive any information, either me or Charmy will be certain to contact you as soon as possible." Espio relayed to the communicator. "I wish you good health and safety for our next meeting, Commander Tower."

At first, the communicator, or rather, the human on the other end, was unresponsive, the shinobi's tension rising even further, though he fought to keep it from becoming too evident.

Luckily though, it seemed that wouldn't have to be. "Save the health and safety for yourselves. You're in the same spot we are. But thank you for your concerns. This is Commander Tower, over and out."

The moment the line had gone dead, the violet skinned reptile set the device down on a nearby stand, finally allowing his outward image to crack and let a long sigh of relief escape.

"You lied."

The chameleon turned to the fluttering bee. "Yes, in a way, I did. Though also in a way, I didn't. We don't know where he is at this time, let alone where he was even going. And Vector was the one who had come across him, not either of us."

"But isn't the Commander guy our new boss? At least for now?" the bee asked. "Why did you do that? You and Vector told me that because he was our boss now, we had to do everything he said- "

"I know that!" the shinobi shouted back, composing himself before he spoke again. "I know that. And usually, yes, I would do just that. As I'd expect you to as well. But right now…"

"Right now, what?"

"…right now, I don't believe it wise to go alerting the Commander of Shadow's potential whereabouts." Before Charmy could even ask why, Espio continued. "I don't know why Shadow's here, let alone what this is about him and GUN, or those creatures." He folded his arms. "Yet if Vector's testimony is to be believed, then some thanks is owed to him for his assistance, intentional or not. Besides, if it comes to that, then at least there's another amongst us that can harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds."

Charmy seemed to comprehend this for the most part, though given what had just been said, one last question. "Does this mean we're getting paid for sure?"

Espio chuckled, more than welcoming the reprieve to the mood. "We'll simply have to see. But we won't be getting much of anything if we don't find a way to crack into these files-"

 **KNOCK**

He froze, turning towards the locked door.

 **KNOCK!**

"What? I thought you said we needed to-MPH!" a hand swiftly covered Charmy's mouth, the bee muttering and shouting insults towards the purple reptile, all of which were intangible gibberish. Soon though, even this grew to be too loud for Espio's liking, so he promptly gestured for the insect to 'shush', pulling him close and releasing his hand from his mouth before making his way to the door.

Though not before retrieving a couple of throwing knives, all of which rested in between his fingers, at the ready to be made use of.

Unable to be seen, both Chaotix detectives were alerted to something outside being tampered with, the 'bleeps' and 'bloops' of the keypad that was stationed next to the door being heard even through the door's thick material. Far from behavior expected of the Black Arms, at least from what little he had seen, yet then again, what he had seen was indeed little. It was unlikely they'd bear the intelligence to try and gain an entrance in here by breaking into the room's code, yet still, neither he nor the young bee with him knew whom exactly was attempting to get inside either.

With a low, yet audible hiss, the locking mechanism came undone, the steel frame, their strongest, most certain means of protection mere seconds away from rising upward and allowing the stranger, or perhaps, strangers to simply step right in.

 **Elsewhere**

In a way, despite where it had put him, the moment the hot, blinding flash of red had consumed his vision, Sonic was grateful for the maneuver Shadow pulled off. He wasn't aware of it at first, yet ultimately, despite he himself not being exempt from its effects, his being caught in the release of Chaos Energy had managed to begin turning the tide in both of their favor.

Doom's hand was forced to release the blue hedgehog as the Chaos Blast was performed, yet thanks to the far tighter confines of the room, if Sonic couldn't make it out of the way in time, there was little chance he would've either. He didn't even gain the chance to attempt teleporting away as the force hit him and his soon to be prey almost immediately.

Sonic was thrown across the room, his journey only being stopped by the thick, glass window that he subsequently slid down, managing to land on his feet, though it wasn't exactly as graceful as he would've preferred. Still though, it had made it a little better as Black Doom was rendered in a far more compromising position. He had been knocked to the ground, though it was clear he wouldn't stay there long, he already beginning to attempt hoisting himself back up to his elevated position.

But that wasn't what had caught the azure hedgehog's attention. And he had to admit, for as sudden and potentially dangerous a move as…whatever Shadow had just done, it seemed to ultimately serve them for the better.

It's emergence from wherever it had been located in his robes was unknown, yet the blast, as well as the impact he received from hitting the wall, was enough to make it slip out from its previous location, the iridescent, almost beckoning red glow radiating from the small gemstone had been more than enough to coax Sonic into making his move.

'You!' Black Doom bellowed in fury, gesturing one, clawed finger in Shadow's direction. 'You dare to…' whatever was left of his chastisement to the smaller Ultimate Lifeform died on his tongue (or whatever sickening thing lay inside his 'mouth'), the ruby red hue of one of the coveted gems catching his attention as he discovered, to his anger and horror, that his prize had now lay in the hands of another. 'Return that to me!' the Black Arms Breeder hollered, rising off the ground and drawing dangerously close to Sonic. 'We have laid claim to them! You have no- '

"Sorry, Big Boss." Sonic sneered. "Don't see your name written on it anywhere."

"Laid claim to them?" Shadow also snarled, beginning to finally shake off the last of the paralysis Doom inflicted upon him. "Funny. Last time I checked, it was called outright theft."

"If anything, you did yourselves a favor in not even touching the Master Emerald." Sonic jested in turn, expecting Doom to be stuck with the ever-familiar realization of horror of something being missed in his supposedly well thought out plans. "Knuckles would have a field day with you guys." Yet, no such thing came. In fact, if he could have even called it that, the mention of the supreme Emerald had caused the horned devil to present something of a look of glee, perhaps even the closest thing to a 'smile' his unfamiliar features could muster.

Then, as if to completely confirm the suspicions of both hedgehogs, Black Doom began to chuckle.

"You…" Sonic, despite himself, began to stammer. "You're- "

'Who says that behemoth stone wasn't taken into consideration?' the horned devil inquired. 'If it holds the title of 'Master', then surely it'd be prime for looking into. And we have, around the same time my race discovered this revolving ball of dirt and the other seven stones that held fathomless power. In fact," he then took a small glance out of the expansive window, down at the ever-present planet below. 'I believe the children I stationed back on Earth are going to be paying it a visit. Though the location and the planet itself has changed since we had first discovered the Emeralds' existence, deducing the 'Master's location becomes far less difficult one you simply look up.' He then turned to Shadow. 'Or, should you be in such a situation, look down.'

 **Earth, Angel Island**

He should've been up there.

No, that wasn't entirely correct. He WISHED he was up there.

The heart of the issue lay right up above his head, miles and miles away from this small slab of land the sole Guardian floated upon. He scoffed when it hit him: the action, the true source of all the trouble that had recently fell upon the world lay up above, casually floating away amidst the endless plethora of stars. And here he laid, atop of a detached portion of fertile Earth, the last, truly intact piece of yet another part of forgotten, ancient history, carrying on with its journey above miles and miles of deep, fathomless depths below.

It was kind of funny, Sonic would've perhaps told him. Yet right now, Knuckles found the irony to be little more than fuel for his ever-growing frustration.

SCREECH!

Mainly because now, the problem had decided that simply taking to the stars wasn't enough! Now it had to come and bother him! This creature in particular had made quite a bold move, leaping right at him instead of simply charging forward as few of its previously fallen brethren had done. To an extent, the move had worked, Knuckles being unprepared for the sudden mass forced on his smaller form and upon said creature leaping onto him, both it and he were knocked down onto the aged, stone steps that lead up towards what the invaders had come for.

As if they were just WAITING for the opportune time to strike, or they were growing more and more desperate, Knuckles predicted that somewhere in this invasion, whether it be after the incident with those ruins in Glyphic Canyon or sometime later, these 'Black Arms' would inevitably attack Angel Island, and in turn, the Master Emerald.

Sensing it had an opportunity, the bipedal spawn rose to its haunches and began to make a mad dash upward, the shimmering glow of the treasure that resided on this slab of land growing in intensity with each and every step closer. Whilst the light was in itself beckoning, mainly due to the order received that insinuated their arrival here, in the few moments before its pupil-less, yellow eyes would come to gaze upon the ancient wonder, another possibility dawned in its animalistic, monitored mind.

Perhaps the glow served some other purpose. Perhaps, it pondered, as it felt a gloved fist snag its scaled ankle, it was sending out some sort of signal. Not like it or its other kin, yet it was a cry of some sorts. A cry, a call for assistance, maybe protection.

And given the next thing its vision caught was the dense foliage and endless skies of this planet spinning at a rapid pace before the back of its head met the same ancient stairway with a loud, snapping CRACK, it found its previous conclusions weren't that far off. Knuckles remained in place as the creature struggled to get up, he somewhat surprised that it was even still conscious, let alone alive after what would've surely broken anyone else's neck, even his own.

It was then that he began to wonder whether or not such plans were what incited this sudden collection of trespassers to make their way onto his island.

It hadn't taken them too long to find where the shrine had lay either. In fact, the only thing stopping the extraterrestrials from making off with the massive stone was the armed and quite easy to anger (not to mention appropriately colored) monotreme intent on smashing each and every one of their skulls in. If they had come sooner when he decided to then go out…oh, the thought of it served to infuriate him even more.

'Maybe it was a careless decision. But…it was just after the incident with Metal Sonic. And…and nothing had happened in months! So how could I have- '

The creatures below had apparently decided they were tired of waiting and had taken to making their way up the stone stairs themselves, not even seeming to care that their injured comrade was being trampled and scratched by their clawed digits. If anything, it seemed to simply lie down and accept the incoming flood of its kind without complaint, as if it were not worth wasting any concern over. The sight had unnerved the echidna a little, yes, yet said discomfort was immediately put aside for dealing with the incoming hoard from below, he beginning the inevitable skirmish with a quick, hard jab right in the left side of the nearest creature's jaw.

There weren't too many, not that there was a limit to what he could handle, and while the echidna couldn't exactly gauge whether or not it had anything to do with what was occurring on the Ark, it wouldn't have surprised him one bit if this sudden onslaught was the result of something going on up there. After all, if what Shadow had told him was indeed the truth, then there was really no good reason for these beings to NOT go and try and steal the Master Emerald away from him.

Of course, that was also assuming Shadow himself was someone he could trust. And given what he had witnessed prior, said trust was rather wavering at the moment.

And whilst it was somewhat of a large assumption to make, it wasn't exactly one Knuckles made on a whim. If, perhaps, somehow, that hedgehog had gotten himself onto the Ark as well, he could only hope that, whatever was going on with him, Sonic would at least have the sense to watch his back.

 **Space Colony Ark**

"Pity you decided to oh so valiantly come here and leave your comrade to fend for himself." The horned being sneered, Sonic's gloved fist and lips tightening in anger. "And not just that," his head turned to the darker colored, red streaked hedgehog. "For him of all beings."

A knife. How or why, Shadow knew not, yet the moment Black Doom had directed the statement to him, it felt as if there was some sort of stabbing pain coming to his very being, his blood running cold and his eyes widening due to both the incoming sensation and some sort of other force he couldn't entirely discern or describe.

No.

No, it was a distraction. It…that's all it was. It didn't mean anything.

Shaking the sensation off (albeit not entirely, to his frustration), Shadow composed himself and immediately shot back with, "Well, at least you're FINALLY being honest with me." He stated. "You're supposed desire to 'help' me was nothing more than a ploy to get the Chaos Emeralds."

Though there wasn't much there to emote with, the coal black hedgehog expected SOME form of expression to arise from Doom. Whether it be some form of fury of being found out (though honestly, that had been done a long time ago) or shock and in turn, devolve into a series of half-baked reasons as to why and how Shadow had it all wrong, he expected something from it at least. Something so he could at least attest that the lingering pang of…whatever had struck him before was nothing to fret or even ponder over.

Yet the alien's features remained the same. If anything, as if responding to Shadow's statement, those three eyes, especially the most center one, seemed to intensify their gaze upon him.

"Oh, my little one. If only it were that simple." The robed being scoffed, glancing back for a moment at Sonic. "Besides, if anything, I am the closest you could ever achieve as a companion. A true one, that is. For despite the fact you have wronged me so greatly…unlike some," again, he glanced back towards Sonic. Why? What was he implying? "I hold no wish or desire for your termination." It was then that he began to make his way towards Shadow, Sonic being left on his lonesome. "Yet while my patience is indeed lengthy," he reached out to him, fingers spreading apart as if to grab ahold of him.

With a step and a hop forward, Sonic leapt up into the air and curled up into the circular, compact form his species was known for, divebombing at Doom's head only to be met with little more than dead air, stopping himself just inches before he would've surely collided with the wall. Believing he now had the opportunity, Shadow had begun performing the beginnings of unleashing a Chaos Spear, only to then find a three-digited hand clasp over his face, blinding and disorienting him. And whilst concentration was somewhat impaired due to this, what had really thrown the hedgehog's focus off was the realization his feet were no longer on the ground, he only meeting a solid surface a few moments later in the form of his back slamming hard into the wall, then from the unsteady landing he made back on the floor.

"…it is not limitless."

"Yeah, well neither is mine, Big Boss!" Sonic declared, and unlike before, the horned alien had no chance to duck out of the way.

The strong and sudden impact to the side of his head, particularly on an unprotected portion of his thick, yet tender neck, Black Doom had temporarily lost balance and was nearly sent on the floor once again, though given what had fallen from his robes, perhaps that would've been the preferable option, for at least that would've allowed him a better chance to scoop it right back up.

Shadow's ruby eyes spotted it immediately, they in turn growing wide as it dawned on him just which particular Emerald now lay before him, its iridescent, green glow more than just a little familiar.

'No! Don't you dare-' Doom began, yet before he could finish his mental declaration, the red striped hedgehog had already scooped up the green Chaos Emerald, the extraterrestrial's arm thrust itself back, a surge of energy beginning to emit from his fingertips. Of course, contrary to what both Sonic and Shadow had initially suspected, instead of an orange hue coming to be seen, instead, it appeared as if it were gaining a hue of green instead. And instead of simply keeping to his three digits, the developing energy had seemingly begun to take over his entire hand, something of a 'point' forming in his palm before the energy seemed to condense itself into something of a 'spear' of sorts, Black Doom lifting it up above his head and sending it forward, right in Shadow's direction.

"CHAOS LANCE!"

 **One of the Ark's Control Centers**

"Hey, guys! Finally, I found you-GAH!"

Tails stood in the now open doorway of the room, blue eyes wide and staring right at the tip of a stinger laced with venom directed at his face.

"Uh…oops." Charmy chuckled, clearly embarrassed by what could've happened had he not stopped himself in that very moment. "Sorry." He quickly stated, looking back to find Espio looking at him disapprovingly. "Hey, you were going to do something too! If anything, you should be saying sorry because you told me to- "

"I take it you've been searching for us?" the ninja questioned the young fox, of whom had fully made his way inside, the door shutting behind him, as well as the lock reactivating.

"Didn't take much to figure that out, huh?" Tails asked, sharing in a bit of the younger bee's own embarrassment. "But yeah, I thought that given you all are here, maybe you could use an extra hand." It was clear he wasn't entirely finished, yet he found himself debating on whether or not asking would be of any use, let alone if he would receive an answer. "Speaking of which, I mean, if you're not able to say, that's fine. But still, why are you guys here anyway?"

At first, he believed that he wouldn't receive anything, yet, to his surprise, his question was answered. And from the last source he expected to hear it from.

"When the first wave of these aliens, or 'Black Arms' as they're called," Espio explained. "Befell the Earth, GUN held concerns that perhaps they would wish to make use of the Ark's technological advances, specifically the Eclipse Canon." An uncomfortable grimace came to the duel-tailed child upon hearing that particular weapon being mentioned. "And, though I'm not entirely sure as to why myself, the Commander has given us specific instructions to retrieve any files regarding Professor Robotnik's research, though what he really seems to have an interest in is his daily audio logs."

"There's more?" Tails stated abruptly, yet the glances he received from both members of the Chaotix (along with a particular swearing to secrecy by a certain organization) made him immediately redirect the way his question was going. "I mean, what interest would GUN have in audio logs? Yeah, they might have some interesting stuff in them, but wouldn't securing the Professor's research be more of a priority compared to what was probably little more than just a hi-tech version of a diary?"

"Exactly!" Charmy agreed. "And from what we've been able to see, at least the ones we could break into, all this old guy seems to talk about is just boring, old guy stuff!"

Espio's face grew stern at the young child's dismissive attitude. "Have you forgotten what we had just seen?" his asked, voice firm and disapproving. "Did you not hear him saying that the intentions of the Black Arms hold nothing good for the planet? That they outright intend to invade and take over?"

"Yeah, but," the bee shrugged. "That's kind of been obvious since they came, hasn't it?"

A small agreement broke out between the two detectives (though if he had to be honest, calling Charmy an actual 'detective' would've probably been a bit too much of a stretch), yet after a few moments of reflecting over what he had just been told, it dawned on Tails on just what Espio had relayed to him.

"Wait a minute." The fox interrupted, the reptile and younger insect directing their attention towards the room's newer occupant. "You said that one of the Professor's logs said something about these aliens wanting to do something harmful to the Earth?" both detectives nodded in reply, yet it soon dawned on them to what this bit of information meant. "How would he know something like that?"

The violet chameleon debated for a short time on how to exactly answer the inquisitive yet perspective young fox, yet ultimately, found himself run rather dry on any good answers.

"I'm not entirely sure." He then answered. "Honestly, I wish I had a better answer to give you." The ninja then gestured over towards the computer he and Charmy had mainly been working on. "Almost all of the Professor's logs are encrypted, so hacking into them hasn't exactly been the quickest of tasks."

"Yeah," Charmy added, eager to get his two-cents in. "And not to mention, the ones we HAVE gotten into are either just the old guy talking about boring stuff or they don't play all the way through or skip around! Sometimes they don't even play at all!"

Well, no wonder they could get barely anything useful, Tails thought. Not to mention, though while the fact a technological marvel such as this existed half a century was nothing short of impressive, the fact was that indeed, it HAD been half a century. And he was pretty certain that the Black Arms' being here did little favors in preserving its steady, yet still ongoing decay. Even in an environment such as this, nothing could've been preserved forever. Still, the fox couldn't help but ponder over the fact that somehow, in some way or another, Professor Robotnik had knowledge of these previously unknown creatures.

'And the Commander of GUN has a particular interest in these logs…I wonder…' while it hadn't exactly been what he initially set out to do, given he was already here, and the Chaotix were in a bit of a jam, there wasn't really a reason why he shouldn't have. "Maybe I could help you guys out?"

It wasn't exactly the most professional thing to do, allowing someone else in to do their work. And while Espio didn't doubt the fox's prolific skill when it came to machines and electronics, as well as their inner workings, this mission was still technically assigned to them and them alone. Then again, he had already taken a bit of a risk in his answering to the Commander, so at the moment, the chameleon couldn't exactly consider himself a stickler for rules, except maybe for when his judgement decreed a rule was necessary to be broken.

Yet before he could tell the adolescent prodigy of his decision, the shinobi found that it wouldn't have mattered in the end.

"What are you looking at him for?" a certain, hyperactive insect had beet him too it. "Aren't I part of the Chaotix too?"

Tails gulped a bit; the bee seemingly having taken offense to being left out. "Well, yeah. I was just- "

"What were you thinking not asking sooner? Duh, we'd like your help! Get over here!"

Before any of the other two could protest, Charmy flew behind the two-tailed mammal and pushed him up to the computer's keyboard, his large, appropriately honey-colored eyes saying it all for what he wished for him to do. To heck with Espio giving the young child an unamused glare.

Gazing up at the expansive monitor before him, Tails surveyed the screen's contents, particularly where the two detectives had been retrieving the coveted files from. Navigating the computer's cruiser over to the particular folder and bringing up a plethora of file listings, all under the name of 'Logs of Gerald Robotnik', he found that upon clicking on one of them, indeed, what Espio and Charmy had told him was true. A password registration screen popped up, awaiting input.

"How many files have you guys been able to get into?" Tails questioned, the dismal looks on his company's faces not indicating anything positive.

"To be honest, I could count on just one hand all the ones that we HAVE managed to get into, at least those that weren't all scrambled up and staticky." Charmy confessed.

"Yeah, this place hasn't exactly been kept up to keep." Tails acknowledged. "And I'm sorry I can't guarantee anything, but I think I know something that'll get us in without having to navigate through the system. In fact, I think it might be able to get us in and able to access a whole lot more than just video logs."

This gained both of their immediate interest. "Do you mean you know the password?" Espio inquired. "How so?"

"It's just a hunch." Tails admitted. "But," he paused for a moment, a sense of deep discomfort coming to his features. "Let's just say that have a pretty good idea given from some prior…experiences here."

"Ooh yeah." Charmy began. "You and Sonic, well, at least Sonic, came here once before, right? Because the ship was- "

"Charmy, enough."

"But he did, right? Sonic, didn't he- "

"ENOUGH."

The chameleon's tone made the fox flinch along with the bee, yet he couldn't deny he was somewhat grateful for Espio's firmness and recognition of his reluctance to delve any further into what had taken place here not too long ago. Only a few months ago actually, Tails mused. He would've never thought he'd wish for such a thing, yet the news that Eggman was up to his world-dominating schemes again was just what they needed to get themselves all back on track. The months after what had just nearly occurred here had little good done in them despite what they all could've faced. If anything, Tails found himself near convinced that perhaps the revelation of what occurred here to the entire world made everything worse.

'I do wonder…could me and Eggman have done anything good together. If he went and gave up his plans after…'

The duel-tailed Vulpes shook his head, banishing any and all ponderings and wonderings of what could've been compared to what was from his head. This was getting him nowhere, let alone was it doing him any good personally. Besides, last time he checked, Espio and Charmy were still waiting on him to make a move.

'Well, cliché as it is, it's still fitting.' The young fox thought. 'Here goes nothing.'

He began typing, entering each and every letter methodically and carefully.

M-A-R-I-A

A prolonged period of tense silence perpetuated throughout the small room, three pairs of eyes anxiously watching the aged monitor for either an acceptance or a rejection of Tails' input.

Yet they found that neither would come, nor would anything else from that half a century old piece of machinery, for in a mere moment that no one, not even the trained shinobi amongst them could've predicted, the screen, along with each and every electronic device and appliance stationed in the room died, the entire room becoming bathed in a thick haze of black.

 **Ark's Power Plant (Computer Room)**

Oh great. Their employer was definitely not going to like this.

The crocodile had to leap back from the alien creature lunging forward at him, its clawed digits just inches away from his yellow stomach, This, however, only lead him to bump into another, the sensation of sharpened, thick nails raking themselves along his backside coming to be noticed, yet given the famously thick flesh his species was known for, the damage done was far less than what it could've been. It didn't necessarily translate to there being no pain at all, however, but he was still in better condition than the now broken, unusable piece of machinery not but a few feet away from him.

Yeah, their employer was DEFINITELY not going to like this.

It hadn't begun as anything that he believed would've lead to this! Yes, the possibility of those creatures finding this place, and in turn, him, was always present in his mind, yet surely the door would've provided a good enough blockade! And even then, what purpose would they have coming here? It's not as if they held any knowledge of what connected to what and so on.

Though when the slamming and pounding had evolved into the door's structure being bent and forced to contort its initial shape, Vector came to realize that perhaps this one certain means of protection wasn't so certain after all. And that theory soon became indisputable fact when the door was forced from its place and sent to the floor, a small collection of the alien soldiers flooding in and trampling the door as if it were particularly a welcome mat. While Vector had initially been somewhat overwhelmed by the number of creatures charging towards him, the collective soon came to realize that this supposed 'protector' of these strange towers of electricity wasn't simply going to allow them to do as they pleased. As they soon came to see, the maw of this particular earth dweller was quite formidable and useful, those unfortunate enough to draw close enough to it still bearing a good few teeth embedded in their flesh, something of which seemed to not even phase this being. And the long appendage stationed on his backside had shown it was a danger all on its own, several of the Black Arms soldiers knocked off their feet and sent falling into the dark abyss below from just a few well timed swings.

This had helped in reducing their numbers to half, and now just to two, yet Vector found that they were just as equipped as he, and even with his success in getting some of them off his back (or rather, off the platform), the fact remained that they still outnumbered him.

The sound of cables being ripped apart and electricity sizzling came to Vector's ears, pulling him from his reminiscing as his brown eyes came to see that one of the four structures stationed around the room had been pulled from its place, now being held over one of the creatures' heads.

"Oh, come on!" the crocodile groaned. "You guys have now probably got a hundred or so cut from our paycheck now!"

With one, well-timed throw, the once functioning piece of advanced equipment was sent flying in the reptile's direction. Thankfully, Vector steeled himself and held enough sense to not try and stand against the incoming obstacle, he throwing himself to the floor as, to the creature's horror, the structure sent one of its own flying back, essentially trapping it underneath the piece of machinery and leaving it without a partner to keep this unruly earth being from interfering with its work.

"Vec-zzzt-tor?"

Despite his predicament, the head detective allowed his eye balls to roll freely in their large sockets. Of all times to decide to check up on him.

The sensation of sharpened nails against his thick, yet somewhat softer, yellow abdomen brought Vector to attention, the creature that had thrown the once functioning structure in his direction having decided to go for a more direct approach in dealing with him. The soldier swiped its claws in his direction, said claws just mere inches away from the reptile's facial region. While he couldn't entirely rely on it to protect him, his large snout at least assisted him in keeping the extraterrestrial's digits from getting too close to the far more vulnerable, softer tissue of his eyes.

"V-zzzzt-tor?!"

'REALLY not a good time, Espio!' Vector mentally snarled, he recognizing the chameleon's voice, as well as his growing frustration from the broken message from the communicator.

The soldier reached forward and managed to seize a surprisingly tender piece of flesh around the crocodile's neck, it's nails gripping and tearing at the small portion of skin it held in its grasp. Vector released a growl of pain as his body began to twist and turn violently, pulling the creature's claws further in his skin, yet the creature along with it. The suddenness and general unpredictability of this mad spinning action befuddled the alien and caused it to nearly lose its footing, it stumbling over and falling to the ground where its kin lay, it having just nearly gotten the electronic structure off of its fallen form.

"Vec-zzt-or!"

That was it, he had finally reached his limit.

"WHAT?!" the crocodile hollered in the communicator's speaker, a high-pitched whine emanating from the device due to the sheer volume it was receiving. Vector was far from caring at the moment.

"You don't have to shout." The chameleon answered back, the head detective just about ready to take this small piece of plastic in his hand and smash it under his shoe.

"Excuse me?! No, wait, excuse you!" Vector shouted, not caring a bit for the younger ninja's request to lower the volume. "I've got these guys throwing things and tearing my hide up, and you have the gall to ask me to 'be a little quieter, please?'" he retorted back in a mocking sort of fashion. "Do you know what I've been having to deal with for the last couple of minutes?! We've got a good chuck of our paycheck cut out now thanks to them, so you had better hope that I get this sorted out, because right now, there's no way I'm going to be able to pay for you to get a hearing aid! Though it'd probably serve you right!"

A small, brief moment of reprieve followed after the larger reptile's venting, bouts of heavy breathing (and a sudden desire for a glass of water) coupled with it. Still, he thought he made his message clear enough. It had and it hadn't, as judging from the series of questions asked of him not long after, it seemed that only a couple of details in his rant was taken into consideration.

"Vector?" a new voice questioned from the communicator, clearly not Charmy, yet definitely belonging to someone not much older than him. Tails? "Did you say that those creatures are in there with you?"

"Oh sure, that's the only thing you care about! You're lucky my temper's nothing like Knuckles', because if it was, I'd- "

"I knew it! That explains everything!" the fox exclaimed, not even noticing Vector's ongoing tirade.

And when he finally processed what the child said, the crocodile found his rage sizzling down, it dawning on him that perhaps the structure being ripped from its place had some ill effects going on elsewhere aboard the massive ship. "Eh…" a twinge (or perhaps more) of embarrassment was also beginning to come to the green reptile. "Explain what?"

Espio came to answer him, the communicator seemingly having been passed. "Oh, not much. In fact, your former assumptions of our payment being reduced is probably correct, as from whatever happened down there, a fourth or so of the entire Ark is without power!"

"Without power? Wha-! OOF!" not another word left Vector's mouth as he felt his right cheek explode in pain, his form stumbling back a bit. 'Oh, look at that. They're both up now.'

 **Higher Level-Hallways of the Ark**

"You think he's okay?" Charmy questioned as the trio that consisted of himself, Espio, and the newer arrival, Tails, raced down the silent, darkened corridors of the once populated space colony, the only source of light guiding their way emitting from the stars outside.

"Yes." The violet chameleon answered. "Of course he is."

"How do you know for sure?" the bee continued, clearly not buying the answer he received. "I mean, YOU heard him say that those things were down there, and from the sound of it, somebody punched him hard in the face- "

"He is FINE." Espio repeated again, putting emphasis on 'fine'. "And besides, what good is it doing him by wasting time asking questions when we should be looking for a part of the ship we can make use of?" it wasn't as if he were meaning it to seem that he was lecturing him. Worry over one of his fellow detectives was far from something to chide the young child for. All the same, the ninja knew well that they couldn't afford to waste any time pondering over 'what if' scenarios, if not just for Vector's sake. He turned to the young fox. "So, you're certain that you can access the ship's control panel?"

Tails in turn nodded. "You guys would've seen it had the power not been cut off. And something such as that is essential to have for any operating system. It's usually never dependent on certain files being available…" he then realized just what this outage meant for the Chaotix, or at least what could've potentially been lost to them. "Sorry. I can try to see what I can recover, if I can- "

"We shall deal with that when the time comes." Espio interrupted, shaking his head. "This is a bigger priority at the moment."

The Vulpes prodigy nodded in agreement, yet while this sentiment seemed to be shared with the bee flying close by, it was clear that these words didn't serve as much comfort as the older reptile had intended. Frankly, Tails couldn't help himself in relating to both Charmy and Espio's current worry, even if one had taken to concealing it whilst the other practically wore it for all to see. He hadn't been there, yet given the absence of a certain blue hedgehog when he managed to find the two detectives, the fox could only assume that something had stirred him to go and take direct action against this currently invading force, not that it would've taken much to get him going anyway. He knew that reckless blue speedster as well as he knew his gadgets and machines, though unlike the latter, even if he seemed to forget it at times, he was still quite vulnerable in a number of ways. And unlike them, as much as the very notion of it chilled Tails to the core, he couldn't simply be salvaged and put back together again.

Of course, he supposed he had better chances now that he took one of the Chaos Emeralds with him. And even more, unlike before, this one was the genuine thing, so should he just so happen to be shot out into space again…he didn't even bother allowing his mind to bring images of that up. Or the capsule he was supposedly still in exploding in the cold abyss below.

'Well,' he mused as he, Charmy, and Espio continued along. 'at least he'll hopefully be careful enough to not go breaking any windows.'

 **Elsewhere**

One.

Instead of four, he now held only one.

And worse still, he could've held six had it not been for the blue rat's intervention!

Gazing forward at the other hedgehog before him, it appeared that he now held three of Doom's Emeralds in his grasp, though what his third, mostly developed eye came to focus on was neither of the two earthlings that dare oppose him. And to his delight, once they had noticed it as well, a good degree of confidence and assurance in their eventual victory was damaged.

Where this first-seen technique, this 'Chaos Spear' had left its mark, Sonic and Shadow saw that that in that particular spot, the concertation of Chaos Energy had gone and actually torn through a good portion of the thick glass of the window. It hadn't broken, thank God, yet this wasn't exactly cause for celebration or relief either, especially given the horned alien's satisfaction at this little surprise.

"Well now, isn't this a bit of an unpleasant surprise?" Black Doom chuckled, glancing towards the small indention he had created. "It would be a shame if this little crack," another developing aura of green began to overtake his hand. "Happened to get just a smidge larger."

Drawing his arm back, the robed creature was about to release another Chaos Spear, yet his aim was thrown off by the suddenness of two quilled figures leaping onto him and delivering whatever they could to him: kicks, punches, anything and everything their bodies could physically accomplish, yet just as soon as this chaotic onslaught began, it came to a close, the sound of breaking glass echoing in their ears, as well as what seemed to be whishing, rushing air being filtered out of a tightly contained space.

Even with the speed both of them possessed, there was absolutely no way of fighting it. Sonic and Shadow were drawn off of the larger alien's form and practically thrust against the now broken window, the small hole where it had been broken still little more than the size of one of their fists, yet given from the developing cracks now showing themselves, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"GET DOWN!" the blue hedgehog hollered amidst the noise, Shadow not needing to be told twice, both of them soon down on the ground to avoid potentially drawing near the hole.

Black Doom was more than aware of what this meant, after all, he had wanted this to occur. Yet still, this didn't mean he in turn was unaffected by the damage he caused, he finding himself being slowly pulled towards the window, and in turn, the open space that he created as well.

All the same, unlike the two before him, he at least knew well how this would end up.

"I don't think I need to explain to you that only one of you has the potential to survive this with me!" he bellowed. "Bestow onto me what you have stolen, and perhaps the rat shall survive just a little while longer!" his line of sight focused on his disobedient little spawn. "You bring this all on yourself! None of this had to occur if you just trusted me as you should've!"

Shadow reached for Sonic, taking a hold of his hand and, albeit with some difficulty, holding aloft one of the coveted stones he gained from earlier.

"Is that your decision then?" Doom questioned, Shadow not even answering back.

Or rather, he found that he couldn't. He found himself steadily losing his ability to form words, let alone move. 'No!' he mentally hollered. 'No, no, no, no, no!'

'Yes.' To the horror of both of them, a faint, yet clearly distinguishable hue of red had begun to consume the horned leader's floating form. 'So, you don't care for the rat's safety.' He chided, Shadow's lips tightening with anger. 'Of course, why would you?' the red aura was near blinding now. Shadow held complete inexperience in this technique, how could Doom be channeling this much energy with just one Emerald!? 'It's not as if he nearly suffered a fate like this before. And even then, you didn't shed a tear.'

Then, at the peak of its build up, the energy was released.

What had begun as air being drained, sucked out from the small space and the continuous cracking of glass concluded in a shattering, ear splitting symphony as the only means of keeping them inside was rendered obsolete, the only, fully developed eye of the orchestrator watching as two smaller figures were violently sucked out from the now open space created, their vocals screaming and spewing curses at the horned devil as he soon vanished from sight, the emptiness and silence of the abyss soon consuming all around it.

 **Note: As with most of my stuff, this chapter took a few weeks to get out, but here's hoping you guys enjoyed it and I did my part in getting you to look foward to future installments. Let me know if you catch any errors I might've missed, and I hope to see you later on the next update!**


	7. Catalyst of Convergence Part 7

**Note: Hello all! New chapter here, and yes, it seems that this will need 2-3 more chapters to be finished (prologue at least). I'm trying to reduce chapter length as I can get too wordy, and I'm considering perhaps splinting the 'Black Convergence Saga' (probably not deserving of such a title, but for now, it's the best I can come up with) into multiple stories. One being this prologue, the other being, of course, the 'main' story. If all goes well, I'm maybe thinking of something to come after, but for now, I'm not too sure. For now, here's hoping you enjoy the final parts of the prologue!**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence Part 7**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

Still.

Cold.

Deathly cold.

And yet what brought him to his senses was the sharp burning swelling up in his chest.

Shadow's eyes opened to view what was around him, yet found himself regretting doing such as the very action seemingly allowed for the same pain in his chest to then transfer to his eyes! Instinctively, he attempted to inhale, to take in some air…only to find that this made the burning worse.

Yet soon, it dawned on him, much to his already growing horror.

Outside. Yes, he remembered now. Black Doom had broken the glass, and both he and Sonic where sucked out of the-

Wait…he and Sonic? He was here. But where was…

The streaked hedgehog immediately began attempting to call for the blue colored pest, yet berated himself upon performing said action. His throat had also been lit aflame, the suddenness of it nearly choking him on his own words. And even when he tried to keep his eyes open for just a little longer than previously, Shadow found that there was no sign of him.

For all he knew, he could've been anywhere.

Yet what was in his line of sight was a single, green stone floating aimlessly amidst the abyss surrounding him. Or at least he assumed so at first. Amazingly enough, the Chaos Emerald drifted in the hedgehog's direction, stopping to seemingly orbit around his ungrounded form. Then not long after, the blue topaz appeared to draw towards him. Then the clear crystal. All three gems revolved around Shadow, their ever-present glows ever indicating that their powers were to be made use of quickly.

Yet Sonic…did he? And the other Emeralds they had managed to gather from Doom? Where did they go off to?

To his dismay, as well as his shame, the Ultimate Lifeform had to swallow the fact that whatever the other hedgehog's whereabouts might've been, he couldn't stay out here for much longer. The intense burning seemed to nearly overtake him entirely, everything in his body fighting, clinging, begging for this sensation to stop plaguing him, even if the environment around him was completely absent of any heat at all.

Sonic…his current condition, whatever it was, was out of his hands.

All of this that had happened…everything was out of his-

He shook his head, the pain bringing him back to focus on the here and now. Besides...if Sonic was indeed…out of the picture, then that still meant there was work to be done.

As well as even more of a reason to go back and find that horned devil!

Still, as he strained himself to complete the command that would bring him back to his previous location, Shadow found that, ultimately, there was still the lingering doubt that Sonic's condition and fate weren't as concrete as he believed them to be.

As if…somehow, in some way…he'd show up later down the line. One way or another.

As if such things were to be expected from him.

As if he had somehow…been witness to such a phenomenon before.

 **Space Colony Ark-Another (Functioning) Control Panel**

"And…got it!" the young fox proclaimed triumphantly, though he was reminded to keep his voice down, for his own sake if not for the sakes of his current company.

It was rather fortunate that the three of them had been able to locate another functioning area of the ship with a computer so quickly. Yet it was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to get here without alerting any of the Black Arms still aboard. And with Tails' successful entering of the security cameras aboard the ship, the bee, fox, and chameleon now had near total access and knowledge to what was going on aboard the massive vessel.

At least, that was what they had initially hoped for.

Granted, Tails was successful in getting the Chaotix (and himself) into the system, upon entering into Professor Robotnik's audio logs, it was found, to everyone's dismay, that a good portion of them had been lost entirely. And whilst there were still some that had survived, the condition of said files couldn't exactly be guaranteed to be in mint condition.

So, with this in mind, as well as the young fox's need to gain access to the security cameras, essentially, they both had to take turns in a sense. Espio and Charmy would gather what they could and send it down to GUN's headquarters, and Tails would follow suit with both trying to salvage what he could from the next set of files while checking the cameras (or at least the ones that still continued to run as they should've been).

The fact they had to move locations, as well as the scuffle they heard over the communicator, brought concerns over whether or not the files could've been recovered, yet also of the potential safety (or lack thereof) of their fellow detective stationed in far lower levels below. And even with Espio's continuous assuring to Charmy that the 'green lug' was more than capable of taking care of himself, as well as reminders that they still had a mission to complete, Tails couldn't help but find worries of his own developing, though unlike the far more vocal insect, he decided to keep these particular musings to himself, a new thought or potential 'what if' coming to him with each stroke of another key.

Despite the power outage to a good portion of the ship, they had been surprisingly lucky so far. And whilst the duel-tailed Vulpes wished that he could share in some of his blue idol's optimism, he couldn't stop himself from peering back and forth from the large computer monitor to the door of the small room.

'We haven't seen any yet. But that doesn't mean they aren't near here. And if the power goes off here…then there'd be little protecting any of us.'

The perpetuating silence was beginning to become a bit too much for the adolescent tech expert, he beginning to part his lips to speak, yet found it unnecessary as Charmy had taken the initiative to do so.

"So, why are so many of them all fizzed out or black?" the little bee questioned, giving Tails a little bit of a start when he found the insect leaning right over his shoulder, he assumedly having been there longer than initially expected.

"Well, truth be told, I had hoped the conditions of the cameras would be at least a little better than this." Tails confessed, analyzing the monitor and the contents it displayed.

Even before he had the chance to do such a thing, the fox theorized that given the size of the ship (along with it being addressed as a 'colony'), that any sort of surveillance installed would likely be spread all over, and that was just for one of several levels of the ship. And to his convenience, it seemed that each and every one of the layers, there were as set of nine sectors per floor, and each sector in turn had six or so cameras stationed in various locations in that particular vicinity.

The problem, however, was exactly as Tails told Charmy prior. Indeed, to his chagrin, age hadn't been kind to this place. Nearly half of the sectors on various floors were either inaccessible or held only a select few cameras that still functioned properly. Whether due to old wiring or improper connections, he knew not, yet given how several of them displayed little more than a distorted, cracked picture for him to see, it was also highly probable that those invading creatures were doing little to help on the ship's upkeep. Several floors, particularly the lower ones, weren't even displaying anything at all, they being entirely cut off from the rest of the ship, the power plant included. This fact, while he didn't openly present it, concerned Espio to a good degree.

Yet thankfully, the few that managed to still function as intended were some that Tails knew would benefit them to a good degree. One of them in their current sector lay just outside the door, perfect for spying and tracking any of the aliens should they happen to be outside. At least, given that power would still continue to be available in this part of the ship.

"Are you sure you can't pull anything else up?" Charmy questioned, growing more than a little restless, not to mention bored with the tedium this mission seemed to provide since it began.

"I'm trying." Tails answered. "Ultimately though, if I have to be honest, I doubt that much will be in good shape after this is over." He scrolled through several feeds in the sector they currently resided in, the cameras displaying several marks of disarray and damage done to the once pristine, clean technological marvel that this spacecraft once was. "Those things seem to have really done a number on this place."

While such an observation was indeed true, from the way he was hurriedly scrolling and clicking through several screens and feeds, Espio couldn't help but ponder. "You seem like you're searching for something." He remarked. "Or someone."

"Well…yeah." The young fox confessed. "Sorry, you guys are the ones on the clock and all- "

"We already know the password to access the logs thanks to you." The ninja interjected. "And their condition can't be helped."

Tails uncomfortably bit his lip. "I…doubt the Commander will be very happy about that."

"No, probably not." Espio admitted. "Yet conditions have changed things to a degree, and thus, at most, we can only deliver what we can."

While it didn't curb his guilt entirely, ultimately, there was a good degree of truth to what he said. Yes, he would try his absolute hardest to recover all he could, yet at the same time, the key word was 'could'. But to the chameleon's earlier observation, "I don't even know where he might even be," and knowing him, he really could've been anywhere. "But if I could at least get a good idea of where Sonic is, it'd just give me a little peace of mind."

He hadn't planned on taking up too much of their time, let alone more on his turn on the computer, yet frankly, Tails found he couldn't help it. It would've done nothing, so he simply put it aside, yet the fact Sonic had even suggested coming here again sent a shiver or two down his spine. And reminiscing of what had occurred, what could've been for everyone involved, only drove him to search harder for any potential sign of the blue blur's presence.

And perhaps another's, though the fox found himself leaning more towards wishing to find the former. The latter…ever since this started, there's been something 'off' about him that he couldn't exactly place, but-

"Whoa, hey look!"

The sudden intrigue and urgency in Charmy's unexpected exclamation drew the attention of the fox and chameleon with him, their focus going immediately towards one of the feeds caught in the same sector as them.

"You see that coming up? What is that?" the bee questioned, jabbing his finger at the minimized picture, the peculiarity he spotted coming to be better seen upon Tails clicking on and maximizing the window displaying the current feed.

What they all bore witness to, however, had left them both speechless, and two of them asking the same question as the young insect before them.

Given both the age and assumed standard model of the camera, the image that came before them was presented in grayscale, yet the details were being captured well enough to see what was happening. Though given what they were seeing, what was happening was indeed quite the appropriate question.

Some strange 'light' of sorts appeared to be materializing before them, said light steadily forming into a shape of sorts, said shape in turn growing more solid. Tails couldn't exactly say for sure, yet he suspected that they were witnessing some sort of act of teleportation. That said, and he could only theorize for now, from what he had seen before, this didn't appear to be the result of using Chaos Control. If anything, it seemed that this act was being done from the being's own energy and power, a possibility that sparked the little genius' curiosity, yet also his apprehension.

And when this strange being had finally displayed him…itself, the same sentiment appeared to be shared by the other two members of his current company.

"Ew!" Charmy grimaced, deeming the creature he was seeing on the feed more than a little disgusting. "It's uglier than the other guys running around here!"

"What…in the world is…" Tails stammered, finding himself lacking in much to say at what he was seeing.

"Wait a moment." Espio suddenly spoke up, his golden eyes studying the bizarre, horned devil that came to be seen before them.

"What?" Charmy asked, exasperated. "What could either of you think of this guy other than 'look at those horns!' or 'he doesn't have any legs!'?!"

"If you'd be quiet and look for a moment, you'd see." The ninja stated. "Look."

Charmy had mostly determined he had seen more than enough, yet ultimately, quick glances here and there at the monitor were given if not just for curiosity's sake. And then, along with Espio and Tails, the adolescent insect began to see what his older fellow detective was getting at.

"He…she…it's got a lot of differences," he observed, the chameleon and fox in turn shushing him. 'But I was going to say that it kind of looks like those alien guys.'

Had either Tails or Espio heard the rest of Charmy's thoughts on the matter, they would've agreed, yet the shared traits of the black creatures with this strange, horned being weren't what came to the forefront of the shinobi's mind when his eyes first saw it in full.

Along with not relaying the entire truth of Shadow's current whereabouts, the chameleon had, upon the Chaotix being summoned and given this mission by GUN, managed to overhear brief snippets of a conversation that took place after it was assumed they were taking their leave to go to the Ark.

The door the team had exited from was left ajar just by a smidge, and while he tried to discipline himself in not allowing himself to eavesdrop, he found that, frankly, the brief bits and pieces he managed to hear made little to no sense at all. The Commander, in complete contrast to the unrelenting, domineering presence he graced them with before, sounded almost as if he were actually going in a bit of a panic, or at least the beginnings of one.

Some sort of repetition of how "He's back." And "I knew it. I knew he'd come eventually. I told them. I knew I wasn't seeing things. I didn't just make it up to deal with her being…"

Of course, it was then that the human managed to catch on that perhaps he wasn't quite alone with his own thoughts as he initially thought, swinging open the door, only to find nothing.

Thank God for his mastery of camouflage.

Still, then, Espio hadn't much of an idea as to what the leader of GUN was even talking about, let alone why he seemed to bear a particular interest in the Professor's logs rather than substantial research done aboard this place. It wasn't until now, seeing this strangely shaped, yet somehow oddly familiar figure before him, along with the brief pieces of information gathered from the few files they managed to hack into, did the reptile find some pieces to fill in some of the holes.

The three occupants of the room gazed upon the horned, floating creature that, quite literally, came from another world.

And in turn, the creature's third eye shifted its gaze to seemingly look back at them.

Then, it reached out towards the lens of the camera, its palm overtaking the picture and consuming it with a close up view of its pebbled, rough skin. The screen seemed to begin to crack, small sparks flying out as the glass continued to break and give out under the being's superior strength.

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was out of sight again, along with everything else, one of the links the three had to the outside being rendered useless and, for now, beyond repair.

 **Elsewhere**

With one, good yank, the front of the device that had once been recording and displaying his existence to any potential eyes watching was torn out from its place in the wall, it being rendered into little more than a crushed up piece of garbage.

"Troublesome things." Black Doom snarled to himself, letting what had once been a security camera lens drop to the floor. Bizarrely enough, this was one of the few times the alien leader pondered about having legs, seeing as he'd at least gain the satisfaction of crushing it beneath his heel, a light scoff exiting from his 'lips' at the thought and prospect of such a thing.

Nevertheless, whether by hand or foot, he had fantasized of rendering these horrible little spies into dust since he first became aware of their existence, as well as their function. It was far from the first time he or his children had to deal with extra sets of 'eyes' stationed in places where they would be spotted, yet in most cases, such a thing mattered not. The invasion and subsequent takeover would almost always commence when they had made their presence known, so it wasn't as if it'd do them any good.

Still, when Doom had come here, or rather, when he had become aware of the capabilities some of those humans possessed upon seeing this strange colony floating above the planet, he supposed that he had simply felt the need the know more. If there wasn't anything of note aboard, at least there would be some samples to see if the earthlings had improved or lost their flavor since last time he and several his kind paid a visit.

'Oh, but I found SO much more than that.' He reminisced, far from in a hurry. There was little chance he'd simply 'allow' himself to suffocate to death. And the Earth was still a good distance away, so gravity couldn't simply do the work for him, unlike before. 'I found what would finally quench this gripping, insufferable urge of mine. I found what, as well as who, would finally bequest to me confirmation of my supremacy!' his features then soured, blank, golden eyes narrowing in developing fury. 'It was also when I found, unexpectedly enough, one with the delusion they could put a stop to the inevitable.'

It was then that the sound of a decently sized object or thing of sorts echoed throughout the quiet hallway, Black Doom not even needing to turn back to identify whom had just materialized before him, let alone who was taking in oxygen as if they hadn't seen it in some time.

"Ah. THERE you are." Black Doom stated matter-of-factly, the sole Emerald kept on his person reacting to the three others that had brought his most recent company to him. "It seems that of what I've been able to provide you with, it's evident that your dependence on oxygen couldn't be helped." Shadow's shock and relief in being back inside the Ark was steadily being replaced with rage, Doom sensing it and growing delighted. The hedgehog still said nothing, his focus still on relieving the burning sensation that had been plaguing his lungs. "Sweet air?" Doom questioned, finally turning to face the similarly colored hedgehog. "I never thought that you'd call such an abundant, insignificant thing 'sweet'." As his red eyes glowered at him, his own eyes in turn glinted in return. "It's not as if it even has a flavor to begin with. Perhaps that mustached imbecile kept you in that pod too long. It seems like you're showing signs of potential brain damage- "

"Sh-shut up. Shut up!" Shadow roared, finally finding his voice once again, as well as the strength to stand on his own two feet, albeit, his legs weren't exactly cooperating with him. "This…it's your fault. ALL of it." He growled, words straining to get out. Even with his lungs being refilled, he was more than a little flabbergasted at how weakened the short time in space had made him.

"How so?" Black Doom inquired. "If I recall correctly, and I do, there was no law that said you had to take my offer. In fact, I was more than ready and willing to leave you on your lonesome, given that you seemed rather uninterested in what I had to so graciously provide you- "

"SHUT UP!" the streaked Ultimate Lifeform bellowed, his voice loud enough to seemingly make the very walls vibrate. "I'm DONE listening to you and your false promises! You've done NOTHING for me since this entire thing began, and even what you HAVE given me, it's told me NOTHING! I don't know anything aside from her name and how she died! And even then, I can barely put any of that together!"

The horned alien simply stood (floated) still. "Are you finished?"

"It'd hardly matter to you." Shadow in turn replied. "Besides, that's not why I'm here."

"Enlighten me then." Though given the hedgehog's evident aggression towards him, there was undoubtably more to it than just what had been established. Especially given that he was the only one here. "By the way," it was pointless to even bring it up by this point, yet should it serve as a serviceable enough distraction for him, then he supposed it bore some small purpose. "I see the blue rat is nowhere to be seen. Did he really wish to leave you all to me-"

"Trust me, all things considered, I should maybe just do that."

Both Black Doom and Shadow could barely believe what, or rather, who they were hearing, the owner of the familiar, youthful voice turning a corner and coming to be seen, the other three Emeralds in his possession.

"But after giving me that little trip outside," the Fastest Thing Alive huffed, folding his arms. "I'm in a right mood to give you a piece of my mind too."

It took him a good few moments for him to even realize it, yet Shadow's eyes widened to near impossible size and his mouth hung agape, the usually unemotive face completely overcome with shock and, dare he say, awe.

"It can't be…" Black Doom found himself unable to do anything other than shake his head at the blue hedgehog before them both. "I-Impossible!" he finally stated, finding his voice once again. "How did you…how could some unevolved lifeform such as yourself possibly have knowledge on how to- "

"I think the words you're looking for both begin with a 'c', am I right?" Sonic sarcastically questioned, unable to contain the fact that he found Doom and Shadow's reactions to his arrival nothing short of hilarious. "Well, Big Boss, as a guy that's pretty fond of secrets yourself, that's for me to know. Whether you find out or not, frankly, doesn't matter to me."

Realizing how embarrassing he had made himself out to be, Shadow instantly closed his mouth and wrangled up as much energy as he could to get himself and his emotions back under control, everything soon falling underneath the veil of cold indifference once again. Despite the spark of relief that seemed determined to fight against him.

"But seeing as you're so 'well informed' about how these guys work," he displayed one of the three stones on his person. "I'm sure it wouldn't take you long to figure it out."

How…was he implying that he had…but…but how could that have been?!

Unfortunately though, Shadow didn't get the chance to even ask whether or not Sonic was indeed speaking of that particular use of Chaos Energy, as Black Doom bore no interest in hearing any of it. Let alone seeing the blue pest still alive.

Yet this would do them little good.

Shadow held no idea where that conclusion had come from, yet for some reason or another, he found himself knowing, as if he had been a fool to not know it sooner, that simply continuing to go on after Black Doom wasn't getting him anywhere! This had to be stopped and stopped now!

But…but how would he…

'The only way to stop them…'

There HAD to be a way to end this!

'…was to develop a way to use the very power they intended to use…'

There had to be something.

'…against them.'

"Cannon…"

It hit him so fast, he didn't even process what had just tumbled from his lips. Yet as he recited it again in his mind, it began to stick with him. And with each subsequent repeating afterward, it dawned on Shadow more and more that he had just given himself that answer! He didn't know how, let alone why, but at the moment, he knew, just KNEW that it would be the answer!

"Cannon?" Sonic asked, quirking a brow. "Shadow, what are you-" his words died down upon pondering what had just been spoken himself, the brief, garbled clips of what he had heard of Professor Robotnik and the incoming danger the Black Comet and these creatures posed to the planet. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, it made sense now! What little he, Charmy, or Espio could make of the log, there were a handful of portions that could clearly be made out!

'Government-zzzzttt-shut down-mistake-zzzzttt-making contact-50 years-zzzzttt-weapon-zztt-depends on-'

A weapon of some kind WAS indeed mentioned! And though perhaps it didn't exactly mean what he was thinking of, if there was anything aboard that would surely take care of the black mass inching ever and ever closer to the Earth, then the aforementioned cannon would surely do the trick.

Unfortunately for the both of them, this sudden revelation didn't go undiscovered by the other-worldly being either. This being confirmed by the sudden lunge he made towards the two, claws out and palm displaying a build up of energy ready to be used against them at any time.

 **Control Panel**

"There he is!"

"What?!"

"No, wait! There THEY are! Er, were!"

Charmy's exclamation brought the attention of his two elder companions, their eyes fixed up on the screen and the feed of the undamaged camera currently being viewed.

"Where?" Espio questioned. "When did you see him? Just now?"

"Yeah! Just now!" the little bee confirmed. "Only, well, they're kind of gone. Cause…you know."

It then dawned on the fellow detective what Charmy had exactly told him. Though he needed not to address it.

"Guess that means Shadow's with him." Tails had done so for him.

What this exactly meant for either Sonic or them, ultimately, none could be sure. Yet for now, their status of still being aboard and alive was all that mattered. Though knowing where they were exactly, let alone where they were heading would be of tremendous use.

If they could even track them from where they were.

Exiting out of the current window, Tails hurriedly scanned each of the present feeds, or at least those that still functioned decently.

"There they are!" Charmy cried out again, gesturing to the plethora of windows. "No wait, THERE they are!" he redirected his finger to another window, which then soon focused on another after. "No, there! There! There they…now they're…" And another, and another, and another.

Espio crossed him arms, releasing a troubled sigh. "It'd be less of a hassle if we held any idea where they were going in such a hurry."

Tails nodded, yet didn't answer back, now too deeply invested in keeping a keen eye and tracking the movement of the two hedgehogs as best he could. They soon seemed to disappear completely from the sector of the ship they had been viewing, so the fox immediately went to work in searching through the different cameras available for each area on the first floor. At least, he still believed they were still on the first floor.

"There!" Charmy proclaimed again, albeit with much for certainty. "There, they are! They stopped!"

Yes, there! Tails could see the two speedsters, stationed up against a wall in…wait a moment. They didn't appear to be alone. In fact, it seemed that the creature they had happened upon before had also taken to reappearing. And from the scene playing out for the three, it was safe to assume that this being didn't exactly hold any good intentions towards them.

 **Elsewhere**

"Chaos Spear!" the beam of green Chaos Energy missed its mark, yet it made itself quite a crack on the glass window they had just went by. And judging from the abundant damage left behind the three, the incident that occurred not too long prior would repeat itself if they weren't careful.

"Which way is it?!" Sonic asked Shadow, attempting to keep the Emeralds he had from slipping out of his grasp.

"What?!" Shadow in turn questioned, also trying to keep his focus on keeping the stones he had in possession.

"The Eclipse Cannon!" Sonic clarified. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly swing by this place often!"

Eclipse Cannon…so, that was what it was officially named. Still, Sonic's tidbit of information didn't exactly help. "And what makes you think I have any idea where it's located?!" the darker colored of the two shot back. "Before today, I didn't even remember this place even existing, let alone what it was even called!"

"Can't you just use Chaos Control to get there then?!" the blue hedgehog inquired, he and Shadow so enveloped in their verbal exchange, that he didn't notice the sudden lack of demands for them to stop or attacks being hurled their way from behind.

"It wouldn't do much good!" Shadow responded. "I'd have no idea where I was even going!" True, whilst he had been making quite a use out of Chaos Control since he had arrived here, said use hadn't exactly been the most precise. It seemed that he was mainly having to resort to it in order to get out of a scrape or retrieve an Emerald from either one of the Black Arms. And even then, he didn't exactly have much of an idea where he was going, aside from searching for the precious stones of power. Specific locations, aside from those he found himself linking to 'her', for the most part, seemed to elude him. And Sonic wasn't exactly making it much better. "And besides, need I remind you that Black Doom still possesses one of the Emeralds? And being they all sense one another, he'd probably have little trouble locating either one of us?!"

"Then why'd you say it?! Or was that some sort of weird 'memory flash' or something? I mean, it's been awhile, but surely you've got to remember more than just- "

"Watch it, you fool!"

He immediately regretted his decision in grabbing ahold of the other hedgehog, forgetting for a moment the velocity the both of them were traveling at. Sonic's surprise was soon replaced with shock and a small bit of panic as he found he had quite literally lifted Shadow off of the ground, he in turn attempting to come to a stop. The friction caused by this sudden move created a small trail of skid marks along the once stainless floor. Yet despite this, by the time Sonic had come to see it as well, it was already too late.

Materializing before the two of them, Black Doom released a flurry of bright, orange spears in their direction, the multiple blasts of energy making contact with both of the hedgehogs, the sudden sensation of burning assaulting their flesh and causing Shadow to release Sonic from his grip. This sudden action lead to the blue hedgehog stumbling forward whilst his streaked counterpart had fallen a few feet behind.

The Black Arms gazed down at the two smaller beings before and behind him, the six stones they held now scattered on the floor, at the hem of his robes. Right there for the taking.

"No-hmmph!" Shadow began to protest, yet found himself rendered unable to speak, let alone move. 'N-no. Not again…'

'Yes.' Doom answered, reaching down towards the Emerald closest to him. The first that Shadow had collected for him. And now, soon to be back in his possession-

WHAM!

The suddenness of the black hedgehog regaining control of himself was something of a shock to his system, yet the incoming form of Black Doom forced him to adjust quickly, the horned being apparently haven been sent to the floor from assumedly a homing attack to the back of the head. And the one responsible had motioned for him to gather any Emeralds he could reach.

"No!" Doom in turn shouted, recovering just in time. "I command you to-"though before Shadow could either prepare or feel the familiar, yet painful paralysis overcome him, a blur of blue inserted itself in between himself and the Black Arms leader.

"You get those Emeralds to the Eclipse Cannon." Sonic told the red streaked hedgehog, he then directing his focus back to Doom. "I'll keep Big Boss here busy."

The 'Big Boss' in question didn't appear to be too fond of the direction this was going, yet when he had simply decided to go and utilize his natural teleportation method, he found himself meeting the soles of the blue rat's sneakers, the kick to his face temporarily throwing him off balance, as well as momentarily blinding him.

"Dude, get a move on!" the rat shouted back to his creation, of whom was simply standing there like a hapless fool. "As much as you probably want to see this guy give me a few whacks, I don't plan on doing this for too much longer!"

Shadow found himself at a loss for word, his expectations for something such as this nonexistent up to this point. "Why?" he finally found himself saying. "Why should it be you? I'm the one he- "

"Because you can't."

The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes widened upon hearing that, his teeth clenching together along with his brow deepening into a darkened glare. "How dare you- "

"Shadow, stop lying to yourself." Sonic cut him off. Despite the insult he had clearly just delivered to him, the younger hedgehog's tone indicated that the statement wasn't said out of spite or any sort of ill intent. "I…" though whatever he was about to deliver next, he, bizarrely enough, didn't seem too comfortable in admitting it. "I arrived sooner than either of you thought. I…" Sonic bit his lip, not facing Shadow, though he could only imagine his features twisting into something he didn't wish to see. "I heard this guy admit everything. And…well…I really don't understand how, but he's got something he does that just makes you freeze up or do what he wants you to do. There's no way you would've nearly given him those Emeralds otherwise."

Everything…it took little time for Shadow to realize what the blue speedster was talking about. There wasn't even any point in asking how much, he just told him 'everything'! And…of course. If he knew of his and Doom's…'connection', then why shouldn't he have put the pieces together from simple observation?! He knew it already! He knew…oh God, he knew.

"And while it's not what you want to hear," Sonic admitted. "At the moment, you'd be doing far more good for the Earth by leaving this jerk to me and getting those Emeralds out of here. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong or 'not worthy' or whatever, but you know it already, don't you?"

Not worthy…he had heard that before, but not by him. If he recalled (though from what, he wasn't sure, even now), he had once spoken the same thing to the blue pest. Along with something else, yet this was far from the time to try and begin putting anything from his mind together. And while he loathed it, he utterly, completely, absolutely despised and downright hated everything the pest had told him, his pride demanding, screaming at him to not allow him to take such an insult lying down. If he truly was the Ultimate Lifeform, then it should be none other than he to prove his own rival wrong!

And yet…he found that, despite his wounded sense of superiority, Sonic was ultimately making sense. Painful, outright sickening to acknowledge sense, but still logical sense. As if to further add merit to the blue hedgehog's words, the three Chaos Emeralds that Shadow had gained began to levitate, floating around him, as if waiting for him to make use of them for something truly worthwhile.

Black Doom lunged forward, yet a homing attack to his chest forced him back, his attacker diverting his attention away for one last time. "Here!" Sonic shouted. "Take these too!" Before he could either agree or protest, Shadow found two more Emeralds being tossed in his direction, he reaching to catch them, yet they went to join the others in circling around him. "Just in case three isn't enough."

No. No, three…three wouldn't be enough. He would need five at the very least. Another piece of information he knew, yet the context and knowledge of how he got it was completely unknown.

Well, at the moment, it could simply wait. He had work to do.

With a turn of his heel and the thrusters of his shoes flaring up, Shadow began his trek down away from his sole companion and adversary, the sounds of a battle between the two beginning to echo throughout the hallway, yet he dared not look back. Only what lay forward mattered now. Only what lay forward was what would end this whole thing.

Though…where was he to go?

 **Control Panel**

"There he is!" Charmy proclaimed, thankful that he could now say and mean it. "He's fighting that weird guy with the horns!"

Tails released a sigh of relief. True, while what was taking place now wasn't much of an improvement, it still appeared that at least now, Sonic had something of an upper hand. Plus, if there was anyone that could beat this guy, it would undoubtably be him.

"Where do you propose Shadow was heading off to?" Espio then asked, the young fox finding himself running dry for answers. If the cameras provided better audio quality, then he'd be able to better give an answer, though from what he knew, from before and now, the two-tailed adolescent began constructing a theory of sorts.

A theory that soon gained much more credibility once a plethora of familiar, bipedal lifeforms began appearing on the screen, the black creatures appearing in various areas on the same floor, making mad sprints towards the dark hedgehog's location.

He then minimized the camera feeds and began feverishly typing on the large keyboard. "What are you doing?" Charmy asked. "I want to see those guys get beat up!"

"Shh!" Espio sternly ordered, the fox still going on, fingers moving at a pace that perhaps even Sonic would be envious of.

"Another passcode? Fine." Tails lightly groaned, entering in the five-letter name yet again. "And…yes!" he then cried out in triumph. "Got it!"

"Got what?" Charmy asked, Espio in turn rolling his eyes. "What do you got? Huh?" Always the inquisitive one. Still, he couldn't deny he was curious as to what Tails had just done as well, a rather expansive schematic of the entire Ark being displayed for them on the monitor.

"Well, seeing as GUN hasn't gone and did any changes to the password system, I thought maybe we could go and see what else they have or haven't changed." Tails responded. "Besides, surely there's something here that can get the attention of those creatures."

 **Hallway**

 **Shadow**

Five…of course. Six…that would perhaps be better. 'It could…tear off half of the moon.' Yet five would do. Using all seven…no. That wasn't good. It…it'd trigger something.

Something terrible.

Yet for now, anything relating to that or all he could or couldn't remember would have to come later. For while the possibility of it occurring definitely came to mind-

SCREECH!

He didn't count on it happening so soon.

The Black Arms soldiers had begun emerging from seemingly any pathway, room, or miniscule corner, each and every one of them with the intent of somehow making either a grab at him or the five Chaos Emeralds encircling him.

Though, thankfully, he could fully display to these simple-minded lugs that their efforts were completely useless now.

From afar, Shadow spotted one of the aliens leaping out from a corner, readying its claws for his eventually arrival.

And arrival that would never come.

"CHAOS-"

For as Shadow continued racing forward, dodging and leaping over the creatures that had done everything to slashing at him to practically leaping out and throwing themselves in his direction, the lone alien just mere feet away raised its arm and its sharpened digits, eager to make contact with the hedgehog's flesh.

"CONTROL!"

 **Sonic**

He hated being restricted like this.

True, while the prospect of being in space wasn't something he usually shied away from, yet given how he had just been hurled out into the vacuum outside not long prior, the blue hedgehog didn't exactly want to be doing anything crazy near any windows.

Sonic the Hedgehog, proceeding with caution. Never thought he'd see the day.

Leaping up and dive bombing the alien overlord, Sonic found himself meeting nothing but air when he dove forward, only to then feel a hand clasping down on his shoulder. Though his opponent soon found himself making contact with nothing either, the full force of the hedgehog's curled body making an impact on his back sending him forward, nearly to the ground.

Hoisting himself back up, as well as making sure the sole stone he held hadn't slipped from his garments, Black Doom eyed the ever-persistent earthling before him. "You didn't strike me when I was down."

"Not my style, Big Boss." Sonic replied. "You're far from one of my favorite people right now, but that's even more reason for me to avoid anything you'd probably pull in a heartbeat."

The horned being chuckled. "If I simply went off that statement, I'd call you a good judge of character." He then paused for a moment. "But that'd acknowledge how you so foolishly allowed one of my own to go off with the very stones he was meant to collect for me."

Sonic shot a glare in Doom's direction, yet still managed to produce a coy smile. "Oh, and I guess that's why he said he wanted to come here to specifically kick your non-existent- "

"Jest and joke all you wish! But he's never far from me!" Black Doom bellowed, his third, fully developed eye gazing in the direction Shadow had gone off in. "I wished not to have to resort to such a thing. Ideally, it was my hope that he would be able to accept me on his lonesome." Sonic quirked his brow, having little idea what this 'thing' he was resorting to was. It was just a hunch, yet he suspected that it involved more than simply looking at Shadow funny or being in close proximity to him. "Yet ultimately, if that is what it takes to properly 'guide' him, then so be it." He sneered. "I knew well you were a rather 'bad' influence, yet I just didn't suspect how much."

"If 'bad influence' means not wanting to let your little alien babies run amuck down below, then sure. I'll take it, Big Boss." The hedgehog smirked. "And' guide' him? Really?" Sonic scoffed. "You sound like you think you're doing him a favor. I bet it has nothing to do with his wellbeing at all, right?"

The unamused, angered look he received said more than enough. "You're of no importance in this, so what worth is it relaying to you what I am trying to achieve? The only point of your existence is to be an obstacle to us!" Doom clenched one hand into a fist, eye fixated on the cerulean, spikey teenager before him. "And that, even now, I can't exactly understand. You of all individuals, going out of your way to assist one such as that."

Sonic's ears heard the devil say something, yet it was low and barely audible. And while he could only speculate, he could've sworn he heard something along the lines of "Even after all he could've accomplished…he was nearly perfect. So NEARLY perfect…the planet that diseased piece of flesh pined over would've been…"

He didn't get the entirety of it, yet from what he gathered, there were definitely a couple of things that he remembered well enough. But he knew that? All of that? How did he…he hadn't even gotten here yet! Did his 'connection' or whatever it was extend that far?

"Ultimately though, it matters not." Black Doom concluded, voice at regular volume. "I couldn't care less of what happens to that ball of dirt, just as long as it's rendered to a state where it's beyond repair. And once I finally get you out of the way," he lifted one arm up, the beginnings of 'Chaos Lance' starting to form. "I shall personally see to it that none on Earth see the light of day!"

 **Control Panel**

"He's in the lower floors now!" Charmy declared, once again pointing out the obvious.

Tails couldn't suppress his groan. 'Well, that REALLY fixes things.'

"Those creatures are likely down there as well." Espio remarked, narrowing his golden eyes. "Not to mention that, should he be attempting to get to that cannon you told us about, it'll definitely be guarded."

The fox bit his lip at that realization. And given what both Sonic and Knuckles (the echidna being far more accusatory) had told him, should the Eclipse Cannon be guarded, it'd be doubtful that GUN would simply let Shadow waltz right in. Still, even if a good majority of the cameras down below were smashed up or simply not functioning, there had to be something! He turned his attention to the ship's layout once again, scanning the various installed devices that either lined or were stationed in the walls or ceiling.

'Fire alarms, no. Audio speakers, no.' he scanned and scanned through, searching high and low for something, anything that'd perhaps at least assist in getting Shadow to the cannon.

"Hey, look!" Charmy then said, both Tails and Espio presuming he was going to, once again, state the obvious. "Emer…" he began to say, squinting his eyes due to the small print. "Emer…gency…gates. Emergency Gates." Or…perhaps not. "And look, they're in the ceiling!"

He was right. Lining above the corridor that, going from the layout, would eventually lead to the Eclipse Cannon's chamber, was a series of inactivated gates that, judging from their currently listed status, were only recently installed. Perhaps after the first time Eggman had decided to make use of it.

Nevertheless, when they were instealled, Tails ultimately didn't care. For now, even if the feeds he had to go off of very limited and little in number, at least he had total control over which gates were activated and when.

Key word being 'when'. Both applying to him, as well as the crocodile surely struggling to make all of this possible.

 **Lower Floors-Cannon's Corridor**

Yes, he thought, viewing the long passage before him. This place…was definitely familiar to him. He had to take a few trips, several floors of the Ark having already been visited before he popped up here. And upon arriving, something 'clicked' with him. He had remembered. Not entirely, yet there was no mistake he had seen this particular area before. And down but a few turns from here would be where their salvation lay.

So, of course, why wouldn't they show up here?

Shadow raced forward, the darkly colored spawn crawling out of whatever corner they dwelt in to come and stop him. Yet after a small period of the what had occurred on levels above took place, the black hedgehog, along with his incoming aggressors, found a low pitched yet rather loud hum meet their ears. From above, any sense of familiarity Shadow held was nearly shattered as he and the aliens saw large, enforced barriers begin emerging from above, seemingly installed in the ceiling itself.

No alarm of any kind had been triggered, and heck, he didn't even think that aside from fire alarms, the Ark held any such thing as this!

Still, currently, it became clear to him that he'd best make it through as soon as possible.

"Chaos Contro-oooff!" the momentary paused the gates had caused had allowed one of the creatures to thrust itself atop of his smaller form, others soon following suit and throwing themselves on one another, forcing Shadow down to the floor, and in turn, the Emeralds with him. Yet still, they seemed to not leave him.

Some of the creatures realized the opportunity presented to them, and attempted to reach for some of the stones that appeared to huddle together underneath the smaller member of their kin.

'Retrieve them.' Their parent, their Breeder's orders echoed in their linked minds. 'Beat him down, do whatever is necessary. Yet do not end him. Whatever shall be done with him is my decision.'

He could barely see from the large bodies blocking out his view, yet the hedgehog's red eyes spotted that the first of however many gates there were had now gone halfway down. And while he wasn't right above it, where it'd meet the floor was just close enough.

If he could perhaps use this…

Curling himself into a ball and hurling himself forward, the creatures that were near his front were sent tumbling off of him, Shadow wasting no time in making his escape. "Oof!" an escape that was cut short by the sudden seizing of his ankle.

His jet shoes going into overdrive, the hedgehog rushed forward, the weight of the creature greatly reducing his speed, yet both of them came to a halt upon something hard coming down on the creature's back, Shadow turning to see that his plan had worked. Some had taken to attempting to lift the door up so more of the others could slip through, not even acknowledging the one that was promptly getting crushed. More and more of the doors from above began to come down, Shadow increasing his speed, as well as the few creatures that had slipped through the space created by some of their own. They pursued ever and ever onward, the distance between them growing and growing.

Finally, at long last, he'd simply be able to go right on in, and-

"FREEZE!"

What the?!

Out of sheer surprise at the unexpectedness of it, Shadow forced himself to come to a stop, the barrels of M4 carbines aiming directly at his head, the small group that held said firearms more than ready and willing to fire, if need be.

'Of course.' He growled to himself. 'Of COURSE they'd be here.' If anything, he was a complete fool to NOT consider such!

The GUN soldiers in question eyed the five emeralds surrounding the coal black Ultimate Lifeform, all the while gesturing with their weapons whenever Shadow tried to make a step forward. How they were, let alone who activated the emergency gates escaped the small band of humans guarding the door to the cannon's chamber, yet the sight of the one who had attacked their fellow men in Westopolis had become the main focus of their priorities. And with the Chaos Emeralds, no less!

Shadow looked upward, the final gate beginning its way down from the ceiling. "CHAOS-AGH!" Oh God, again?! How many times was he going to be interrupted?!

A bullet had been fired, grazing the hedgehog's shoulder, green fluid being released from the wound. And soon, his ears were alerted to even more rounds being released, though not necessarily at him. The few creatures that had managed to slip through had finally reached him. The door lowered down on the scene taking place, the image of one lone individual fighting off a small group of larger extraterrestrial creatures was shut off to them, only the pained grunts and cries of both hedgehog and alien alike being barely heard from behind the barrier.

'Look's like the Commander's paranoia payed off for something.' One bronze-skinned recruit thought, though no one was too eager to begin celebrating just yet.

Suddenly, a hue of red came to the center of the gate, subdued, yet from whatever was happening within its confines must've been large to effect even the outside of the reinforced material. The men kept their weapons up and forward, more than ready to release as many, if not all of their contents if need be. Yet they found that nothing came of it. After the flash of red, there was nothing more than silence, the same that had perpetuated the area as before.

"Wait." One of the soldiers said, biting his lip uncomfortably. "The Emeralds are with him."

"Yeah." Another one of his comrades confirmed. "And?"

"What's stopping him from simply popping in or whatever it is those things do?"

He then realized, to his horror and dismay at what they had just allowed to happen, this being further confirmed by the sound of a lock from behind them clicking,

 **Inside the Eclipse Cannon's Chamber**

While he wasn't exactly sure of what to expect when he entered, what met Shadow's eyes upon entering wasn't exactly what he would've expected. Especially given the fact that, aside from the small ridge lining the circular chamber and the large platform in the center, there wasn't any floor to speak of. That particular little detail (which would've become a big one if he hadn't caught himself before slipping off) caught him off guard, yet still, upon seeing this place, despite its quirks, there was no mistaking it.

This was it. He had made it, finally.

Warping over to the center platform, he looked upward, silvery spheres were stationed above him, a lone area of sorts underneath, where a few monitors were lined up around it, though only one was fitted with any sort of control panel. Shadow's eyes fell onto the middle of what he assumed to be the cannon's main power supply, seven distinct holes carved in the surface. He took one of the Emeralds revolving around him and placed it inside one of the holes.

A perfect fit.

Placing in the other four after that in no particular order, the Ultimate Lifeform found himself drawn to the two, spare holes left in the center of the small, hourglass-shaped pillar.

'Five to destroy a city. Six to destroy half of the moon. Seven…seven to…'

He stopped himself. He had come this far, and he had wasted enough time musing about matters such as these. Besides, the sight of this thing, let alone the thoughts that came with it made begun to make his stomach churn.

'I think you know why.'

Making his way over to the monitor fitted with a keyboard, Shadow gazed at screen, a password entry screen popping up.

"Oh, lovely."

He focused on the screen for a few moments, mind searching, raking each and every portion to perhaps find some sort of potential phrase or word to enter.

Or name.

Names. Yes, of course.

Placing his fingers on the keys, he began to type, each and every letter further fueling the notion his hunch was the absolute truth.

'She was cherished. She would be everywhere.'

By the time he had entered the 'A' and pressed the correct key to confirm his input, Shadow was presented with a message of acceptance, as well as a view of the planet below, as well as it's lone moon.

Or at least half of it.

The ebony hedgehog was taken aback at first at the sight of it, what he deemed to be little more than strange, yet ultimately meaningless thoughts suddenly gaining far more weight and credibility to them.

'You know.' A voice echoed in his mind, though it did not belong to Black Doom. Remarkably enough, it sounded just like his own. 'You know what happened. You were there.' Shadow found himself beginning to feel nauseous, a sharp, cold chill assaulting his chest as well. Though what brought it on? 'Don't give me that.' The voice spoke again, it, 'his' tone seemingly delighted at these sudden sensations coming to him. 'You know well why you feel as if your stomach's turning inside out. Why you can't bring yourself to look at what's left of the astral body.'

No. No, no, no. He wouldn't do this, not now. He had a task to complete!

'You think you can just sweep all that happened under the rug?'

"QUIET!" Shadow bellowed, his declaration echoing throughout the empty, barren core, he then berating himself for behaving so foolishly.

It meant nothing. It was just a distraction and nothing more.

Redirecting his focus down to the monitor (avoiding eye contact with the halved moon), Shadow spotted something else a short distance away. Beyond the moon (don't look), there was a somewhat smaller, yet still sizable mass of black near the Earth.

'There it is. The Black Comet.'

Faint, yet still present, red surges of something or other traveled through various portions of the black mass, akin to electrical currents traveling through circuits. Or perhaps through nerves. Examining it further, Shadow found that, for what was supposedly a rock drifting through space, it bore a rather disconcerting…dare he say, organic appearance. The red surges appeared to be more like pulses traveling through flesh, the comet's surface, despite the bone-chilling cold that lay outside, appearing 'warm' in a sense. At least from what little he could see of its deeper regions from the cracks and tears in the astral body's surface.

Warm inside. Warm…so warm…sounded…sort of…nice.

Biting down on his lip, Shadow knew right then and there that it didn't matter what this thing was truly made of, let alone what it held inside of it (warm), it was going to be eradicated.

But he had to do this carefully. He wasn't entirely sure, yet it'd be his luck if this thing would only allow him one shot at this. Looking through the available options presented to him on the screen, Shadow navigated the best he could through them, lest he go and destroy what was left of the moon (don't' look at it!).

From what the monitor displayed, a target of sorts formed, Shadow clicking the button that allowed him to further zoom in on whatever was meant to be the desired target. Well, at least that'd take care of the…no. No, don't look. Don't THINK of it.

Now, all there was to do was to activate-

"NOOOO!"

His entire body was wracked with heat, burning, stinging pain lighting each and every portion of his small form afire, his hands practically bending the keyboard before him in an effort to keep himself upright.

Something from above had fallen, making a hard landing on top of the pillar holding the Emeralds, a blue form rising and shaking himself to his senses, the one responsible for his less than graceful entrance floating high above, coming down and glowering at the two hedgehogs, particularly the one at the cannon's controls.

"Shadow! Cease this at once!" Black Doom hollered, teleporting behind him and seizing his arms, wrangling them away from the cannon's controls. "Look at me!" he commanded, the hedgehog refusing, yet a hand grabbed ahold of his chin and forced his gaze upward. Those three eyes bore down in those of the smaller hedgehog, a mental battle being waged between them. "This ends. NOW."

"Y-Yes, it does." Shadow answered. "And that comet will be the first thing to go!"

"You will do no such thing!" Black Doom roared, lifting Shadow off the platform and slamming him into the monitor behind. The force hadn't been enough to break it, yet the screen now held an indentation in its center. "I have traveled ALL this way for you." The horned alien growled. "I have come, specifically, for you!"

"To be little more than an obedient pet and go Emerald hunting, you mean!" Shadow answered back, this in turn earning him a slap across the face, the long claws attached to the alien's fingers scratching the flesh of his muzzle.

"You think you have put forth effort in searching for those stones?! What you have lost?!" Black Doom bellowed. "That PALES in comparison to all the sacrifices and effort I've given in bringing you into this plane of existence! If not for me, you'd be no better than the Professor's first attempt at a so-called 'Ultimate Lifeform'!"

He wasn't even set down, Doom had just let him drop to the floor. Though this moment of being on the ground allowed him to at least hoist himself up, as well as back into the keyboard. A glance at the monitor had shown him that all that was needed was his input. Just one click was all he needed to do.

"If you do this…" the horned devil growled. "If you go through with this…then there will be no going back from this." He took ahold of the hedgehog's throat, beginning to lift him up yet again. "How this plays out, is ultimately, up to you. Whether you live or die, whether I will still have mercy upon you when the invasion of this planet commences, that all hangs in the balance of what you do now." His eyes narrowed, seething anger echoing in them, yet a small sliver of regret appeared to seep through. "Should you force my hand, then your fate shall be entirely your own doing."

While he had mainly been keeping himself quiet and still, Sonic was ready to spring in should it be required. His green eyes surveyed what was taking place below him, yet his line of sight seemed drawn to his rival's shoes. Particularly the one steadily moving towards the lowest key stationed on the center portion of the keyboard.

"Well?!" Black Doom bellowed, demanding an answer.

Shadow remained silent for a time, his motions still and stiff, Sonic seeing from his vantage point that Doom was once again taking advantage of whatever hold he held over the other hedgehog.

Still, regardless, Shadow had enough in him to at least do something. And in turn, he had provided Black Doom with the answer he had been so anxiously awaiting.

'Click'.

 **Note: Please alert me if I got any details wrong regarding how the cannon is activated. I did some research on it, yes, yet ultimately, I'll admit a lot of my knowledge of SA2's story comes from the Sonic X Shadow Saga and its way of portraying things, of which I tend to go off of (as with that, from what I remember, it acknowledged that going out into space and grinding on rails isn't exactly a smart thing to do). Then again, there's also the fact that in the Shadow the Hedgehog game, you had to leap from falling platforms and grab mini rockets that took you to the Computer Room eventually, all in the vacuum of space. Still, if I made any egregious errors, please let me know. Thank you to all of my readers, and I hope to see you all next time!**


	8. Catalyst of Convergence Part 8

**Note: Hello all! Just a heads up: I am going to be going on a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in just a couple of days, so I wanted to get this out there before then. And due to that, the length is a little shorter than my usual chapter length, yet I'm finding that around the 10,000 word limit works best for me, as it doesn't burn me out as much. I just need to work on not being so wordy. With that said, thank you all for your patience and understanding, and here's the next chapter!**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence part 8**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sonic Team/Sega**

He didn't speak, let alone allow the thought to dwell in his mind for too long. Should he had done so, then his Breeder would've potentially spotted it, his link with him having already been proven to extend beyond anything he could fathom. Which in turn would lead to questions being asked, which would then lead into more…unsavory things.

Still, despite the danger in doing so, Black Death couldn't help but find some security in the fact that he had relatively been left to his own devices here. And perhaps, because of that, the hooded alien allowed himself to finally let the persistent thought come to his mind.

'Why?' it was little more than just one word mainly, yet still, it said it all. 'Why here? Why now? Better yet, why even then?'

He paused for a moment, as if waiting for his musings to be answered. Yet no such answer came, relief coming to him in that he, even for a short time on this small, pathetic rock orbiting an equally pathetic planet, could be left alone for a time. Not that he minded his Breeder's presence at all. Oh no, no. Not at all.

Nor did he mind being in the company of these simple-minded drones that served as little more than shields for whichever world they were invading to go through.

The comet was nearing that blue planet as it had done several times before, and while its atmosphere couldn't be penetrated, that far from stopped any of his race from paying it a visit, let alone leaving a few 'reminders' of their visits, a la the structure nestled in one of the planet's canyons that had surely seen better days by this day and age. Such things were of little concern for him, yet when his Breeder announced that there was to be a full on invasion, Death was left with more than a few questions.

All of which were answered by little more than assurances of Black Doom's infallibility and the presence of those seven stones native to the planet. As well as a 'trump card' that dwelt on the surface, one of their own that was living amongst the world's inhabitants, and no one, save for a select few, held any idea.

'It's perfect.' He remembered him stating. 'It's so unbelievably perfect.'

Truthfully, Death wished he could share in his Breeder's enthusiasm. And while he didn't openly express it, the hooded, leg-less member of the Black Arms found himself plagued with doubts and suspicion regarding his superior's coveted, less 'traditionally-made' spawn. Black Doom still sensed it, nothing escaped him. Yet thankfully, it seemed he simply overrode the younger subordinate's apprehension as little more than him being jittery. And perhaps that was just the case. After all, if Breeder was correct about that particular Warrior he helped 'birth' in a different manner, then maybe there was nothing to concern himself over-

BOOM!

He hadn't moved. He hadn't gone one inch from where he aimlessly floated above the ship's flooring, yet if he didn't have his sense of vision to tell him otherwise, Black Death would've very well assumed that someone or something had up and sent him flying through each and every wall and surface inside the Blodex vessel until he had crashed through to the rocky surface outside. And even that wasn't accurate enough of a comparison to describe the overwhelming, yet short lived sensation that overtook him.

Physically, he had been unharmed, yet the moment the barrage of the crippling agony assaulted him, Black Death found he could no longer support himself, falling to the floor and releasing a series of hurried, ragged breaths, as if he were slowly yet surely approaching death. It had left him as soon as it had come, yet relief did not come when he was released from its grip.

This…this wasn't foreign to him. He had experienced such a thing before. It had been some time, yes, right when they had invaded the world of those overgrown insects. Yet it was nothing like this. It was NEVER as great and terrible as this.

'No.' he knew what had just happened. He knew good and well what had just occurred. Yet still, he didn't want to acknowledge it. He couldn't! 'I-Impossible! It's impossible!'

Yet despite his instinctive denial, Black Death's insistence that what he feared had happened didn't, COULDN'T have occurred, the chorus of wailing cries and screams that soon echoed throughout the ship allowed the bitter reality to force its way in.

 **Space Colony Ark**

From the pillar, the stones distributed their shared, collective power, the energy flowing through the small, diamond-cut Emeralds travelling down through the necessary channels, down, down, down, until it could go no more.

Stationed on the underside of the massive spacecraft, the nozzle that formed the 'nose' of research center, its very appearance made in the likeness of the one who constructed it, opened, four separate pieces disconnecting and spreading apart to allow the exit of power that demanded to be set free. From within, in between the four pieces of the nozzle, a strong, near blinding light began to develop, surges of pure, raw, Chaos energy swelling and building until it had reached its limit.

It was not as far as it could go, yet the amount of Emeralds dictated what it was allowed to do. And while it was minimum at most, for its intended target, it would do fine. Better than fine in fact. It was just right.

From the time it took to build itself up, one would've assumed that it would've taken a minute or two to perform the task assigned to it, yet, surprisingly enough, as soon as the beam of blue energy left its place, it was all over as soon as it left.

The mass of black that lay outside of the blue planet's atmosphere had no chance, let alone any hope of escape.

With one, precise blow, the cannon's blast pierced through the very heart of the Black Comet, the maneuver against the floating rock making quick work of it. While the blast hadn't been enough to render it into dust, the tearing through its utmost center lead to a chain reaction that completed the task for it. The center had been torn through, which in turn lead to the areas surrounding it to break apart, the very structure of the massive living space for the black invaders soon falling at the very seams. Tremors rocked the entirety of the astral body, its very foundation destroyed, the ground beneath those unfortunate enough to still remain on it falling to pieces beneath them, the barrier between them and the abyss being rendered to nothing until the abyss was all that was left!

Then, from the few that could see it, the eyes that had the fortune to be able to see it firsthand, in silence, the Black Comet broke apart. Pieces of the once intact body were violently hurled away from one another, some sent flying in the Ark's direction, some sent too close to the Earth where the planet's gravitational pull got ahold of them. Others, however, flew ever onward, nearing nothing more than the outer regions beyond the small space between the lone colony and the planet it orbited. Where those pieces ended up, or whether they were still going on and on, no one could say.

Yet the one thing everyone could agree on, whether they be stationed in the stars or down on the third planet from the sun, was that, as of now, the once announced and anticipated 'Fire in the Sky' was no more. The chorus of wailing, agonized screams and hollers that echoed and reverberated throughout the entirety of the ship as if the very area was a haunt for wayward spirits. And perhaps, to a degree, such a thought was half right. If not for the damage and carnage they had managed to bring about in just the last couple of days, the Ark's current inhabitants would've perhaps held pity for the invaders. Though for most, it was nothing short of justice in its purest form. Just as they mourned for those taken by the sudden influx of these otherworldly beings, they too would now experience the same.

The Black Comet, in all its years of existence, however many it might've been, was no more.

 **Eclipse Cannon Chamber**

From the way he had backed up, Shadow would've thought that simply tapping the key had somehow electrocuted the horned being, Sonic too taken aback by Black Doom's reaction. Though from what the screen had displayed, the reasons for said reaction didn't need to be explained to either of them. The resulting explosion that occurred was more than enough of an indicator, as well as nothing short of the confirmation of eventual triumph against the invading horde.

After all, there wasn't much of anyone left to go on with said invasion.

Black Doom had thrown Shadow to the side, his three eyes plastered to the screen, each of them widening in abject horror as he witnessed the complete and utter destruction of his Black Comet, along with all of those he bore residing within it.

In just one, brief instant, it was all gone. His home, his kingdom…just like that. Gone.

Gone…and by his…no.

'How…dare you.' No, this wasn't in any way his fault. No, the blame resided on the shoulders of another. "HOW DARE YOU!"

He didn't get the chance to back away, the devil's hand shooting out and taking a firm hold of his neck. Shadow couldn't help but gag as the alien tightened his grip around his throat, though he soon found himself becoming acquainted with something even less pleasant. Black Doom lifted the hedgehog up off the floor, switching to holding the back of his head with the other hand, sharpened claws digging into the tender flesh concealed beneath the thick quills of red and black. Then, his head was sent right into the screen.

SLAM!

"HOW COULD YOU HAVE DONE THIS TO ME?!"

SLAM!

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU?!"

SLAM!

"AFTER ALL THIS TIME?! AFTER THE DISTANCE I'VE TRAVELED TO FIND YOU?!"

SLAM!

"AND AFTER ALL MY TIME AND EFFORTS!"

SLAM!

"WITHOUT MY BLOOD COURSING THROUGH YOUR VEINS, YOU'D BE NO BETTER THAN THAT DEFECTIVE REPTILE!"

SLAM!

"AT LEAST THE BIOLIZARD KNEW ITS PLACE! AT LEAST IT ATTEMPTED TO COMPLETE WHAT ITS CREATOR DESIRED!"

SLAM!

"YET I SAW FIT TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE! I SAW FIT TO ALIGN MYSELF WITH THAT DESPERATE HUMAN AND PROVIDE HIM WITH WHAT WOULD BE WORTHY OF BEING CALLED THE 'ULTIMATE LIFEFORM'!"

Surprisingly enough, Shadow found that his head DIDN'T go through the screen, as tempting as it must've been for Doom at the moment. He attempted to push himself away (or at least as far as Doom's hand would allow), shards and pieces of the screen falling from his quills. Specks of greenish fluid rested in the cracks centered in the rectangular viewing device, it just dawning on Shadow that, aside from the literal headache inflicted on himself, his forehead had felt somewhat wet. Reaching up to lightly touch the area resulted in the same greenish fluid soaking his fingers.

His fluid. His blood. Doom's blood.

Sonic had seen more than enough, yet if he was going to be doing Shadow any favors, then he'd, thankfully, have to act fast. Yet he'd also have to act quietly. 'Sorry about this, Shads. Distract him for just a teensy bit longer.'

As of now, however, Black Doom held no concern, let alone care for the other blue rodent in the chamber with him. For all of the trouble he had insisted on giving him, at the very least, he wasn't guilty of what THIS one had just committed! And the damaged, yet still functioning screen displaying the outside view of the ship, the absence of the cannon's most recent target only further motivated the horned leader to make his point known.

"…so be it." He finally spoke, turning the hedgehog in his clutches around to face him, holding his face and angling it as such when Shadow attempted to turn away. "Perhaps you had made your decision long ago. Perhaps that incredulous, stubborn, insufferably ungrateful attitude had been far too ingrained in you to…'correct'."

With one final, small push, Sonic eased himself off of the cannon's pillar, his feet making a small 'thud' when they hit the platform, yet thankfully, it didn't appear to be enough to garner any attention. Good, now that the hard part was out of the way…

"Yet even if you were to beg mercy for me now, it would be too late." Black Doom continued. "I came to this planet for you, one of my own. And you decide to not only rebel against me, yet each and every one of your kind- "

"They are NOT my kind!" the Ultimate Lifeform shot back, far from caring for anything else that Doom had to say. "From since I laid eyes of them, even before I discovered just how much of a snake you truly are, I would not even THINK of EVER allowing the smallest part of me consider any of those half-witted mongrels having something of value to their existence!" he went quiet for a few moments, taking in large amounts of air before continuing on. "The only thing they could ever provide me is something to plow through. And you, so far, have only provided either half-truths or blatant lies. So therefore, you'd only serve me any good in dropping dead." He paused yet again, watching as Doom's features twisted and malformed into something even more hideous than his normal appearance. "Go on. Slap me across the face. Continue beating my head in if it pleases you. You've made it clear by now that I'm no longer of any value to you, so what's stopping you for going through with it?"

And he did want to. Oh, by the Ancient Ones that came before him, he wanted nothing more than to tear this mistake, this horrid little waste of cells and flesh asunder and give what was left to whatever was left of his current brood!

But…no. No, that…even that would be too kind. And unfitting.

"Putting those stones in those slots was the stupidest thing you could've done. Cowardly as it might've been, you would've at least bought yourself some time. Maybe." The Black Arms leader snarled, tightening his grip on Shadow's throat, robbing the hedgehog of a good degree of air. "Contrary to what you may believe, this turn of events is indeed a regrettable one." With his free hand, a surge of green energy was formed, the horned alien then bringing said hand and developing Chaos energy dangerously close to the ebony hedgehog's chest. Right above his heart. "You could've regained what you had lost, and in turn, erase all the turmoil that would've come with it." He drew closer, Shadow just barely able to catch the scent of 'something' emitting from wherever his 'mouth' lay. "If you knew what I did, then you wouldn't speak as if you were oh-so-noble. In fact, you'd come to truly see what, let alone why those around you have regarded you with suspicion and dread, as well as see why even that was less than what you truly deserved." He then drew back. "Yet…here you are now. As am I. No better than when we had first met. Thus, you die, knowing only but a sliver of an entire history." Doom raised his hand high, eyes focused directly on where he wished to drive the now fully formed Lance through. "I suppose, though, it is only fitting, seeing as I saw fit to bring you into existence…" his hand had reached as far as it could go, ready to bring itself down at any moment. "I should be the one to see fit to your exit."

It was purely reflexive, Shadow cursing himself for doing so, yet when Black Doom's hand had reached up as high as it could go, his eyes shut themselves to the sight of what was meant to strike him. He had no way out of this. The Emeralds that he had finally gained back were so close, yet so far. Chaos Control wouldn't do him any good this time. He had come this far…this far and now this?! No! NO!

And yet, when he was certain that the inevitable would come to him, he found that he felt nothing. At least not the sensation he was entirely anticipating.

He was struck, yes, but not by Doom's Chaos Lance. Rather, the hedgehog found his cheek slamming down on the keyboard, the rest of him then falling to the small platform surrounding the controls.

CLINK!

And perhaps something else as well.

From what he could see from his current landing spot, it appeared that Sonic had up and taken it upon himself to intervene, the horned alien having (assumedly) been struck by him whilst fixated on the other hedgehog, allowing for Shadow's own freedom. As well as the freedom of the last Emerald the being kept.

"HEY!" the blue hedgehog cried out. "Get your hands off me!"

Leaping up off the keyboard and dashing to the other side of the platform, Shadow stopped himself for a moment, taking the Emerald, a sapphire, before going on to the source of Sonic's voice. When he made it, he came to see that Black Doom had the blue speedster by the ankle, holding him over the deep chasm below, the Emerald that Sonic had in his possession in his grasp.

Then, with one flick of his wrist, Doom released him.

Shadow couldn't allow himself to stand and gawk at what had happened, nor would he simply allow Doom to keep the Emerald he had just gained. Launching himself forward, the being didn't have a chance to react to the hedgehog's kick, the sudden blow forcing him to drop the stone down in the pit. Shadow immediately dove off of the platform, to Doom's surprise, he going down, down, down, Sonic's falling form soon coming into view.

"GRAB ON!" Shadow ordered, holding out his hand. Sonic didn't even argue, taking ahold of the other hedgehog's hand as the two of them fell, gravity continuing to pull them down, down, down. The other Emerald soon came to join them in their descent, Sonic making a grab at it, though with little success.

The sensation of free fall, being pulled down…the scorching heat that followed soon after…

Shadow shook his head, wasting no time in making use of Chaos Control and warping the two of them back up to the top of the cannon's chamber, right back in the presence of Black Doom. And lo and behold, the two Chaos Emeralds were back with them.

"Thanks." Sonic quietly told his darker colored rival, the other hedgehog brushing it off.

"Save such things for later when there's time to." He stated. "Besides, if not for you…for now, let's just say we're…even."

The blue hedgehog shrugged, not entirely satisfied with such an answer, yet anticipating that his savior would respond as such either way. Besides, for now, the two of them agreed that there was only one thing that was on his mind that needed to be done.

Black Doom floated in the same place he had been before, two pale, featureless eyes and one reddened iris meeting a pair of red and green. There was no need, let alone desire to any of the three to exchange anything between one another. The line had been drawn, and there was no going back for any of them.

Now, finally, the attempted conquest of these otherworldly invaders would come to an end.

A final, long awaited finish to this lying devil and the rest of his loathsome kind.

At least, that was what both hedgehogs anticipated.

They certainly didn't anticipate the sudden, bizarre trembling that began to overtake Black Doom, nor the horned alien being sent to the floor, hands clawing against the platform's surface as if he were in insufferable agony.

Yet if that were the case, why then did it seem that he was growing pleased with whatever was happening to him?

Another wave of pain coursed through his body, the trembling having now evolved into uncontrollable convulsing, the ornaments and small trinkets strung around his neck jingling and clattering along with the chains that held them as Black Doom continued on with whatever this was.

Sonic and Shadow were left at a loss for words, caught in a limbo between disgust and fascination, mainly due to the fact that neither held any idea what was even happening to the otherworldly being.

Though it soon became clear that it was rather serious when the skin around his eyes began to stretch and tighten until it could stretch no more.

Not without said skin being torn.

The lone, fully developed eye stayed in its place whilst the other two hung lazily to the sides, each bearing an appearance as if any and all life (however little of it there was) to them that had formerly present was gone, in their place being a pair of dull orbs gazing outward into nothing.

The 'mouth' that both Sonic and Shadow witnessed brief glimpses of before came to be more clearly seen, though addressing it as such would've been far too generous and ordinary. Feelers was all that came to their minds. Feelers that would've fit perfectly on some unknown, horrifyingly misshapen species of insect emerged from beneath the folds of skin on his 'face', a large, gaping hole of reddened flesh lined with rows of sharpened, equally spaced 'teeth' visible for both of them to fully see. Thick, whiteish fluid pooled out from the opening, the inner sections of the feelers coated in the liquid and only adding to the amount dripping downward.

The two hedgehogs couldn't help but back away from the grotesque scene playing out before them, each of their faces contorting in revulsion at this unforeseen transformation Black Doom was going through. And it didn't get any better when the sounds of joints popping and limbs reshaping came to be heard. Doom's robes could barely contain his changing form, the aged, brown fabric beginning to tear and rip, becoming little more than shredded pieces of raggedy, old cloth that just barely managed to cover the stretching, splitting, blackened flesh of the alien being.

The Emeralds. They had to get the Emeralds.

Anticipating that they'd attempt to try and recover the five stones from their places to join the other two, Black Doom reached towards the pillar they had been inserted in, an unnaturally large, misshapen hand planning on clasping itself over the five stones. Shadow leapt forward, putting himself in between the enlarged palm of Doom and the cannon's pillar, his feet kicking outward against the alien's rough, pebbled skin, said alien instantly going to work in exerting his force against the smaller lifeform.

His current position wasn't exactly ideal, yet it was the best he could do at the moment. He had to make this work. With Doom's hand continually pushing and pressing against the soles of his skates, the black hedgehog's legs beginning to give out from the sheer force, his hands fiddled around behand him, attempting to dislodge the five Emeralds from their places.

"Hey, lean up a little bit!" a voice from behind asked, Shadow somewhat surprised when he felt another pair of hands reaching for the stones. "Looks like despite the fact you dove in after me, you forgot I was even here!" Sonic huffed, continuing on with trying to dislodge the Emeralds from their places. "No harm in saying 'hey, maybe a little help over here?', you know?"

"Then what's stopping you!? Get to it!" Shadow growled, though a good degree of his current aggression was the continuous pressure being applied to his legs, they being forced to bend against the ever present force of Doom's hand.

He attempted to try and maneuver himself to where there was some open space between his back and the pillar, yet Sonic still found that working the stones out of their slots, let alone reaching them, was a task in of itself. It had taken Shadow leaning and shifting to where his body resembled a lopsided 'c' to even allow his rival to even reach the Emeralds stationed higher up.

Though even that wasn't enough.

After gathering three of the five stones, Doom's hand had finally managed to overpower Shadow. Instead of simply continuing to push down on him, the malformed being had taken to adjusting his hand and grabbing the pillar, his unnaturally elongated digits wrapping themselves around the cannon's power source and forcibly pinning the smaller hedgehog to it. Sonic was forced to draw his hands away, he now focusing his efforts on prying the alien's appendage off of Shadow.

"Don't!" he then hissed, amidst the crushing pressure being applied to his chest and just about everywhere else on his smaller body. "Watch over the others! These two are mine!"

Sonic wasn't too keen on simply leaving Shadow to his own devices, yet then again, what choice did either of them have at the moment. He had no intention on simply leaving him there, and had been intending to deliver a vocal refusal to his demand. Yet it was then that, through the enclosed fingers that held him in place, a green glow began to form.

"Your arrogance betrays you yet again, Shadow!" Black Doom snarled, both hedgehogs coming to the conclusion that the alien had made use of telepathy to primarily communicate (as neither could see how anything could come out from that gaping maw). "You should know better by now that I have you in the palm of my hand! I can render your senses and will meaningless and bend them to-AGH!"

Though he didn't exactly have them in his possession, he was still in a close enough proximity to utilize them. And due to the closeness, it was then that Shadow decided to give the other technique Doom had formerly displayed a try. Right in the center of his palm.

The Chaos Lance stung and burned the alien's skin enough to where he was forced to release his current prey, Shadow falling to the control panel again, albeit on his feet this time around. Wasting no time in this brief moment of freedom, he leapt back up and removed the final two Chaos Emeralds from their places, Sonic coming around from the other side of the platform, the other five members of their ilk revolving around him as if anticipating their soon to be utilized power. And as Shadow came down to join him, the two he had just retrieved joined them, all seven spreading out and encircling them both.

Black Doom looked down at the two insufferable rodents, the coveted treasures he had traveled all this way for just mere feet away from him. And yet they had chosen the ones that were determined to destroy him. There they were, floating in the air, as if creating some sort of protective barrier around the two hedgehogs, taunting him. Mocking him.

'…fine then.'

The two appendages that had been working their way out from his back finally broke through the ever-tearing robes and his formerly intact skin, bearing a strange, yet oddly similar appearance to that of large, leathery wings.

He had decided, still, that this was absolutely fine.

After all, it had been made clear that this conflict was inevitable by now. These two, his own…'child', were set on fighting and ridding him from this world…why not provide them with exactly that?

 **Control Panel**

"Chaotix to Commander Tower! Chaotix to Commander Tower! Do you copy!?" Espio hissed into the communicator's audio receiver, yet still, nothing.

"Can't you get anybody?" Tails questioned, growing more and more anxious by the minute. "Anyone at all?"

The ninja held the device tightly in his gloved hand, the other coming to his forehead to massage his sore temples. "No." he simply answered. "I don't understand! Surely he and the troops here are aware of what's just happened!"

"How could they not?" Charmy interjected. "Those guys still haven't stopped screaming yet."

Indeed, for while the small room had been built in with rather thick, dense walls that filtered out a good degree of sound if the source wasn't close by, yet even then, the howls and wails of the black creatures were more that audible due to just how many there were in number. Though their view of the outside world was limited to a good degree, the ship's layout, as well as the notice that appeared on the monitor, indicated that the Eclipse Cannon had been fired, and whatever had occurred afterward had been distressing enough to garner such a reaction out of them.

"I read you." A voice suddenly answered from the communicator, nearly catching everyone in the room off guard. "Or rather, I've BEEN reading you. I just hadn't been given the opportunity to answer."

"Commander Tower, sir!" Espio greeted, professionalism being overridden by relief. "It's great to hear you're safe, sir!"

"I wouldn't go that far." The human sighed. "We've just barely managed to scramble in here."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean that since the cannon was fired at the Black Comet, we've been hounded by those ugly son of a gun creatures for the past half hour or so!" he went quiet for a moment, as if collecting himself. "We've lost a good chuck of our troops already." He then said, voice quieter, as if meant for Espio to hear alone.

The room was silent, Espio attempting to shield the children, especially Charmy, from this bit of grim news, yet while they didn't hear the entirety of the details, it was evident that whatever the Commander was saying, it wasn't anything good.

"I…I'm sorry to hear that, sir."

"Don't." the human ordered. "It…it can't be helped. It just happens. No one's exempt in things like this." It was only speculation, yet reflecting on the small bit of information he had heard earlier, as well as the Commander's unwavering resolve to see these aliens fail to get their hands on anything aboard the Ark, the chameleon couldn't shake the feeling that the invasion served as something of an opportunity for the leader of GUN. Some sort of 'second chance' of sorts to do something over. Over, and perhaps, hopefully, better.

'He was here.' Espio realized, keeping the revelation to himself. 'He had been among those that were-'

"Either way, I've been meaning to ask," the Commander suddenly began, the familiar, steely resolve he mainly held showing itself in full, acting as if the momentary slip before never occurred. "Do you still have power where you are?"

The chameleon was somewhat taken aback by such a sudden shift in direction, yet quickly adjusted to go along with it. "Yes, at the moment." He answered, hoping that his answer wouldn't jinx them all. "Why? Are you having issues where you are?"

"If only it were simply that." The Commander answered. "One minute everything was working fine, the next, everything just goes black." He then sighed. "I suppose it was some sort of God-given fortune that the doors were closed before those things started breaking their way through. Gave everyone a bit of a head start."

From that bit of news, it seemed that the three were more lucky than they had initially believed. Yet still, that brought up more than a fair share of concerns regarding the subject. Particularly of a certain crocodile still down in the depths of the ship.

"Either way, the most important thing is that the Eclipse Cannon's been fired, meaning that the Black Comet's been taken care of." Indeed, from the sound of it, this was rather good news. Better yet, this was just what they needed! Yet still, there was a distinct lack of relief or joy in the human's voice. "Though, it seems due to that, the ones that are left are wanting to take everyone aboard the ship down with them. Heck, maybe they even want to make the Ark into a temporary stay. I don't exactly know, but from what I've seen, they want anything they deem either as an enemy or food." His breath hitched upon saying the last word. "Assuming they even care which one you are before they decide to try and take a bit or two."

'Or three.' Espio mentally added.

"Either way, I suppose this is it for now. Nothing's been canceled yet, so complete the mission and I'll keep you posted. Commander Tower out."

The link died out, the communicator going silent yet again.

Not having to concern himself over the human's incoming report anymore, the chameleon turned his attention back to the two children in the room with him.

"Well?" Charmy asked. "What was it? C'mon, tell me!"

"Did he say anything about the cannon? If he saw where it had been fired?" Tails asked, Espio feeling far more comfortable answering that.

"Well, lucky for us, he has." He responded. "As of now, the Black Comet, the apparent source of those creatures, is no more. The Eclipse Cannon's seen to that."

Indeed, that WAS good news! Better yet, it was the best news they have had since this whole thing began! Tails let out a sigh of relief, his mind turning to the one surely responsible, or at least partially, for the weapon's firing. Though this in itself brought with it a slew of other concerns, some of which, from the expression the chameleon gave, Espio had heard of already. "But not all of them were taken out. The creatures, I mean. There are still a good number of them aboard this ship. I don't think they'll be at all happy about this."

The violet skinned ninja gnawed at his lower lip, golden eyes shifting left to right before ultimately nodding in acknowledgement and confirmation of the fox's assessment.

"And that big guy with the horns," Charmy then asked. "He's still got to be somewhere around here, right?"

He couldn't simply brush that off, he knew the little bee wouldn't let him. With a good degree of reluctance, Espio nodded his head. With this, Tails had begun a new search on whatever functioning cameras he could, to better gauge where some of the creatures might've been lurking. Even just brief flashes were better than nothing. At least then they'd have some idea of their location.

'Assuming the power to this part of the ship doesn't go out either.'

The young fox hadn't known it yet…

RUMBLE RUMBLE

Yet he'd curse himself greatly for allowing the thought to even come to him.

RUMBLE RUMBLE

"What the-"

BOOM!

No one had a chance, the sudden, completely unforeseen tremors that overtook the entirety of the small room knocked everyone inside off their feet. And even those that had been in the air were rattled in such a way that their balance and concentration was rendered obsolete, sending them to the floor and lying down, flat on their face.

"What's that?!" Charmy cried out, an unusually high sense of panic overtaking the young insect as he tried to hoist himself up, only to lose his balance once again by another quake that rocked everything around them.

BOOM!

"Keep still!" Espio ordered, Charmy still trying to stand, yet the fellow Chaotix member took a hold of his thin wings, keeping them together with two of his fingers. "I said, keep still! Do you want to give yourself a concussion or worse?" he then directed his attention to Tails. "You too!"

Tails didn't argue, lowering himself to a laying position, blue eyes shifting and looking up towards the computer, hoping and praying that it wouldn't take too much damage. From all around them, the very structure of the room struggled and strained to keep itself together, dust and small bits and pieces of the ceiling falling to the floor before, at last, it seemed that the shaking stopped.

"Did you notice that?" Espio quietly whispered, the young fox about to ask what he was talking about before another tremor rattled and shook through the entire colony. Of course, it was when it hit, he then realized what the chameleon was getting at.

It didn't make any sense to him, especially given that anything that would've caused such a reaction would've probably come from down below, Tails at first worried that something had happened to the ship's engine or some other vital element that would lead to its inevitable demise in a fiery explosion, taking all of them, allies and enemies of the Earth alike, in its wake. Yet upon noticing a few key details, as well as paying closer attention when the next wave hit, the Vulpes realized one crucial element regarding each and every one of the shakes that had just hit them.

Upward.

The source of them had been from something upward.

Another shockwave came to course its way through, and the little kit's blue eyes surveyed and studied how the ceiling would react before the walls, the force working its way down to the floor and then ever on downward to the lower floors. It had happened so quickly, he couldn't for certain say whether or not his observations were entirely correct, yet given from how Espio's own eyes were glued to the ceiling above them, he at least figured that they had some sort of merit to them.

Of course, that left all of them with one, pressing question.

What could possibly be large enough to create such a reaction? Not to mention, where? Nothing that size would be able to fit inside, surely! At least from Tails' perspective. True, the Biolizard had been kept here aboard the ship, yet that doomed, poor thing had its own, separate chamber larger enough to accommodate for its size. And it was all the way down in the lower levels! Heck, he didn't even have any idea about it's existence until Sonic and Knuckles were staring it square in the face!

And this thing, though he himself couldn't entirely gauge its size…from what he was feeling, it was big. Perhaps around the same size as the Biolizard.

BOOM!

Maybe even bigger.

"Charmy? Charmy!" Tails' ears twitched, turning to see the bee not much younger than he heading towards the door. "What do you think you're doing?!" Espio scolded, lifting himself up and going to the smaller insect.

"Don't you want to find out what it is too?" Charmy questioned, going to unlock the door via the code Tails put in (when he first hacked into it), the chameleon's hand in turn seizing him by the wrist.

"Not at the risk of walking out into a potential death trap!" he chastised. "You don't know who, let alone what's out there!"

"Nobody's out there!" the insect argued. "See?" he then gestured to the monitor, of which Tails had gone back to, the cameras, both active and inactive, displayed for all to see. "There's a window right outside here, and that camera there shows that no one's outside of this room- "

"Currently." Espio interjected. "No one's outside of this room, currently." The bee tried to get out of his grip, yet a sharp tug back brought him away from the door. "And you going out there just to get a peek at whatever is causing these shockwaves might just attract attention to yourself, and if you can't get back in time, you'd be out of luck, because I highly doubt those creatures will simply let you pass on by."

"But you said that anything unusual should be investigated-"

BOOM!

The incoming shockwave jostled the chameleon enough for the bee to slip his wrist out of his fellow detective's grip, he making good on his intentions and unlocking the door, flying out as soon as he could.

BOOM!

It was close. The vibrations almost breaking his rhythm, yet the insect kept going. He didn't know why Espio was so adamant about this. He wasn't in any danger! At least not right now. And besides, both he and Vector kept going on him for missing crucial details in some of the cases they were fortunate enough to get! If anything, he was doing them a service in trying to find out whatever was causing all this racket!

The trip wasn't long, barely even a few yards away from the control panel, yet as Charmy entered the far larger room, the expansive view to the starlit world outside and the Earth below was all that could be seen.

BOOM!

Yet this was the best chance he had to see the possible origin of them. It couldn't be inside, he knew that much. So, it had to be coming from something outside of the ship. He drew closer, practically up against the thick, enforced glass to see if he could get a better view, or at least see something.

'It's big.' He thought. 'It has to be. So it might not be able to hide.'

Yet what could've-

BOOM!

Well…that wasn't exactly the answer he had been looking for. But it was more than enough of an indicator he was onto something.

Charmy tried to stop himself, yet the suddenness of what came before him outside forced a panicked shriek out of his mouth, he in turn clamping his hands down over it, though it probably wouldn't do him much good.

'Hey, it's okay.' He told himself. 'It…it didn't hear me. Probably. Besides, what was it that they say? You can't hear anything out in space?'

As he was searching for the cause of the shockwaves that besieged the ship, some…thing, as if responding to his internal request to get a glimpse, came down over the window, blocking the bee's view of the Earth, as well as much anything else outside of the Ark. It definitely wasn't human, let alone anything that he could relate to anyone or anything he knew of. Heck, he didn't even believe that what he was seeing was the source in its entirety, just one singular part of it!

A single, bulky, long appendage of sorts had slammed itself down across the viewing glass, worm and twisting its way around the outside of this small part of the ship until even more of the unnatural, sickening things came down to join it, they too acting in the same manner, Charmy likening the appendages to the tentacles of an octopus or squid or some other multi-armed thing (there was a specific term for things like them, but he could never pronounce it right).

Though, that in itself wasn't a good fit either.

Unlike octopi and squid (cephola…cephila…whatever), these appendages (tentacles?) appeared ropey and thick, segmented and mostly dark in color, blotches and splashes of deep red all over. Almost like the skin of a worm, or given the dark color, a leech. And whilst they seemed to function in a comparable manner, they bore little else in common with any earthly multi-armed animal, as while he was in no way an expert, he certainly didn't remember any octopi that had large, bulging arteries and veins lining and branching out all over their tentacles. While most of them were only visible due to how they pushed up against the thickened hide of the multiple parts of whatever had roosted itself above, there were a select few that managed to present what was traveling through them to the horrified, yet intrigued and captivated bee.

'Green?' he thought. 'If it's blood, why is it…' it then hit him. Though he hadn't seen much of it, both Vector and Espio had kept to shielding him as best they could, yet during when he, the chameleon, and Tails had been forced to sneak away to a functioning computer, not far away, he spotted a wall that had strange blots of bright green scattered all around. At first, he believed it to be paint, which in turn brought him to question Espio why anyone would think that this was a good time for some interior decorating. He now began to understand the ninja's reluctance to answer him, as well as pushing him inside the room, making sure to center his attention on something else.

Yet now, there was nothing he could focus on more than it. His eyes stared outward, widened and unable to tear themselves away from the otherworldly tentacles.

He looked out at them.

And the one who was attached to them looked back.

* * *

'There you are!' Espio mentally declared, Tails but a few inches away from him. He had taken him along, for should they be without power again, he wouldn't be able to hold himself for long, should the worst occur. Both he and the young fox were about to go on in and drag that foolhardy young bee back, yet the moment he stepped inside, they too bore witness to what was outside of the viewing glass, Charmy not even registering the chameleon's presence due to what had just taken notice of both of them.

Neither of the Chaotix or Tails could clearly distinguish what exactly was peering back at them, yet all three concluded that the source of the shakes assaulting the ship had been found.

And in turn, so had they.

The beast that lay just outside was only separated from them via a shield of glass, glass that it could surely break if it so chose to. And from the way the tentacles swarmed and writhed around, perhaps that was its very intention. Yet despite the obstruction of its entire features, a few telltale features could be seen from the open spaces in between the multiple appendages.

A 'mouth' of some sorts, or at least some sort of mandibles lined with haphazardly placed, sharpened teeth was seen lazily hanging open, a gaping, open maw stationed below them being openly presented. The inner, fleshy walls lined with the same sort of teeth, seemingly going on until nothing could be see but an abyss that rivaled that of the one outside. The skin that surrounded the unnaturally shaped 'mouth' was stretched and pulled, akin to plastic wrapping being stretched to a point where it'd surely tear if it were forced to stretch out any further. And to a degree, it seemed that such a thing had happened to the beast, particularly around the 'mouth' area, a large portion of reddened flesh in the middle of what the bee, chameleon, and fox could only assume was it's 'face' having several small tears and cracks in it.

Yet none of that was what made them relate to the strange, unknown figure that they had caught on the cameras by sheer accident. The figure that seemed to pick up he…it was being watched by a select few it didn't wish to know of its existence.

But it knew of theirs well enough now, if it didn't before. All three of their reflections able to be seen clearly in the single, large, eye, the red iris rivaling that of a blazing, raging fire.

And where else had the three seen such an eye as this? And better yet, from whom?

The nameless, yet identified beast blinked its lone, ocular body part, Espio shaking himself out of his startled stupor and reaching forward, immediately seizing Charmy by the wrist and, along with Tails, darting out of the room as quick as his legs cold carry him, not daring to look back to see whether or not the monster was bemused by his attempt to make off with the two children.

 **Outside the Ark**

'Go then.' He inwardly snarled, looking on as the violet skinned reptile ran out of sight with the two smaller Earth dwellers. 'You know well that the doors and locks won't protect you.'

No, indeed not, he thought, as he 'smiled'. Funny, in a way, given that from what had just happened, he should've been feeling NOTHING positive.

The Black Comet…HIS Black Comet…by the one he had made all that effort to go in and produce…

'My Breeder! You're alive!'

Black Doom wasn't entirely prepared for the sudden voice to echo throughout his head, his single eye blinking in response. Yet when he realized whom had just contacted him, he allowed his now overgrown, transformed body to relax.

'Yes I am, Death.' Doom answered. 'More so than ever at the moment.'

'My Breeder…' Death sounded hesitant. 'You sound…' he paused. Sound…no. Sound was the same. And yet…'Feel different.'

'Yes…' Doom answered, a low snarl exiting him. 'You are correct. I'll admit, even after all this time, I'm still not used to this particular form.'

'Form? Breeder, you're not-'

'My hand has been forced, Death. My…our Comet is gone. Our home is gone.'

Death was silent for a few moments, not even concentrating on keeping the influx of saddened, dejected realizations from flowing freely from his own mind.

Silence overtook the unmeasurable space around Doom as he listened on to his subordinate's agonized cries, the chill of the abyss not even registering with him. It had become too familiar to get any sort of reaction out of him now. Still, the enlargement and…adjustments to his physical body brought forth with it a good amount of places and areas that had yet to make contact with the void of space.

'It's been long since I let my 'wings' spread…'

'It was his doing, wasn't it?!'

Black Doom's single visible eye widened at what Black Death had just allowed to be shared via their connection. 'WHAT WAS THAT?!' he roared, immediately receiving waves upon waves of shock at what his subordinate had just let slip out, as well as the regret that followed.

'It was them, wasn't it?' Death asked again, tone far calmer and subdued this time.

Good, good, Doom thought. And here he was beginning to worry whether or not he remembered the lesson he learned before.

'It was them.' Death affirmed. 'Those planet dwellers. They were the ones who saw to the Comet's destruction! There's no one else that could've done such a thing- '

'Technically speaking, it was the cannon's doing. But yes.' Doom confirmed. 'They were responsible. The blue rat…and him.'

He waited. He would not allow 'him' to escape responsibility in the destruction of their home, yet still, he waited. Waited to see if the far-off member of his race would take this opportunity given to him.

Yet it soon became clear he would receive nothing.

Excellent. He learned quickly. A trait he actually wished his other more 'unique' creation had installed into him. If anything, that was one thing Gerald could've done all on his own, before or after his unfortunate…loss.

Loss. Bah. It was only one life out of several. And not even one that contributed anything of value.

'You must come back.'

The larger Black Arms leader narrowed his one eye at the suggestion that came to him, yet given he appeared to still have some spare moments left, he decided to humor his subordinate for a time.

Where were they?

'Pardon?'

'I mean…' Black Death corrected himself. Distance or not, he knew better than to push too far. 'Should you not consider coming back, my Breeder?'

'Back where? Deimos? The Blodex ship? What good would that do?'

His eye scanned the vast area before him, he also peering through those of his children. Still, no sign of them. Where WERE they?! Where was HE?!

'We do not have a Comet anymore!' the far off extraterrestrial argued (even if he wished to sound as if he were appealing to his precious superior). 'If you've been forced to take on your alternate form, then the situation's become too dangerous!'

'I'm still among the living, am I not?'

'For how much longer?! Breeder, please! I fear for your safety! I need you! We all, we all need you!'

'SILENCE!'

And as he commanded, silence once again took over, the only voice that broke through it being his own.

'Black Death, we've been over this, have we not? Not but moments prior? Has my answer to you, as the one who provided you all that you have, including your very existence, been lost already?'

He received no answer at first, the lack of a response saying more than enough.

'Has it?'

'No! No, of course not! Not at all, my Breeder!'

No matter how much the lower ranking Arms member would insist otherwise.

'It's just- '

'Just what?'

'I…I cannot help it.' Death confessed. 'I do not mean to insinuate that you aren't capable of dealing with these horrid killers of our kind. But…' he paused, voice rattled and frightened, as if he were some small, lost child. 'I cannot fathom what will be if something should happen to you.'

Ah, so that was all, eh? Granted, Black Doom far from liked the fact of his status, let alone his position of being unstoppable questioned, his subordinate's concerns were nonetheless something he, begrudgingly, had to take into consideration. Even if just to get the far away child of his off his back.

'Should I come? I can get the ship going and put it into overdrive. It'll be a bit risky, but it shall arrive in- '

'You will do no such thing.'

Doom felt the surge of fear that plagued Death all the way from Deimos, yet paid no mind to it. 'But my Breeder- '

'What did I JUST tell you?!'

Concerns or no, his influence in their link was clearly the stronger of the two, and in the end, that was all that mattered.

'Death,' Black Doom growled, more than anxious to end this useless exchange. Still…as improbable as it was, there was still the slim possibility of his fears becoming a reality. Yet that was before. Before he had been forced to take this scarcely used form. Something that the little hedgehogs hadn't taken into consideration. 'Shadow has no idea what he just allowed me to do.'

Death felt it, his Breeder was about to break ties with him for the time being, which was the last thing he wanted.

'I am more than Black Doom now. And thanks to the Comet's destruction…' it was still a fact he was far from pleased with, let alone having to acknowledge that it had been 'him' that caused such a cataclysm to occur. 'We'll have to make ourselves a new resting place to continue on our travels through the universe.' He gazed forward, the revolving, blue rock not but a simple warp away. 'And I believe I have just found the perfect candidate. Minor adjustments notwithstanding.'

Black Death wished he could've said more. Inquired further on what exactly he meant. Yet his question had yet to be answered. Surely, he wouldn't leave him with just that! He couldn't! Not now of all times! Did he not see what was at stake here?! That he himself, their entire race was at stake?!

And what of the Chaos Emeralds?! Where were they?! Why did Black Doom not have them in his possession?! Better yet, had their enemies harnessed their power to-

WHOOSH!

Anything else that Death wished to share was of no use anymore, for his Breeder's voice, as well as his link, was lost.

It had been cut off the moment Doom had noticed two streams of golden light flying across the endless horizon above.

'They must've come from behind.' He thought. 'Trying to get the drop on me.'

The sources of the two blazing trails of light then came to a stop, right in front of the Ark and the beast that had taken roost atop of it.

Doom surveyed the two, recognizing them immediately. The shape and color of their quills may have changed, and whilst the rat bore a more saturated hue of gold compared to his spawn (whose own colors were lighter, almost a paler shade that greatly contrasted with his race's red markings), the likeness between them was uncanny in many ways. They still bore the same, ever present will and drive to see to it that he falls.

Neither spoke a word to each other, yet once the realization hit the lighter colored Ultimate Lifeform, his rival simply nodded in confirmation.

This was nothing new. History, it seemed, was repeating itself.

And now, here they found themselves. The threat was of a different nature entirely, as well a literal alien threat. Yet in the brief moments of calm before the inevitable would commence, the echo of a long, throaty roar emitting from a reptilian behemoth that once stood in the very place where the devilish creature was now came to mind.

Though, unknownst to the two of them, this signified not the end.

Only the beginning.

 **Note: Just two more chapters for this I think! Then we'll be wrapping this prologue up! And yes, I believe that I will be putting this in a separate story, a la 'Catalyst of Convergence'. Black Convergence will just be its own story as well to separate the two better, as this seems to be focusing more on an alternate take of the game's story rather than the main one. Yet for the main one to make sense, I had to alter a few things.**

 **Still, thank you all for reading and following this story, especially you Pyro, and please let me know of any errors you caught that I didn't. Thank you yet again, and I hope to see you once I return from Myrtle!**


	9. Catalyst of Convergence Part 9

**Note: Hello! Part 9 here! I'm making the beginning of this a different story, but it might just be on AO3. That said, I had planned to write more in this chapter, but my laptop's having issues regarding Microsoft Word, and sometimes, the program wouldn't open at all. Then again, this thing is cheap, so it probably is just an issue with that (as well as constantly alerting me of space needing to be cleared out, even if I have barely anything on here). That said, just in case of any problems, I wanted to get out what I could before a really serious issue happened. That said, here's part 9, and I hope you all enjoy!  
**

 **Chapter 9: Catalyst of Convergence Part 9  
**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

When it had first occurred, Vector frankly didn't know what to think.

One moment, the Black Arms that had broken into the Power Plant were dead set on either ripping apart the four pillars that kept the ship powered up, or the lone crocodile that had set forth to stop them. The next, they all seemed to just stop. Something had just…come over them, their eyes growing wide and almost frightened, though Vector was more surprised by the fact any sort of emotion outside of bloodlust could come from such things.

The three pillars that had still remained intact had begun to glow, said glow growing more and more intense with each passing second, as if something aboard was consuming a vast amount of power in order to be used. Yet as soon as this strange event occurred…it then stopped.

Only to be replaced by another.

The creature flung their heads back and looked upward towards the ceiling, towards the very heavens it seemed, and released sounds and screeches that were near successful in permanently damaging Vector's hearing had they gone on just a while longer. Whatever had happened to garner such a reaction from them must've been huge, yet given his current confinement in this small chamber (well, small compared to several other places on the Ark), the detective suspected that he'd probably not get an answer until much later.

Or maybe not at all.

Whatever had indeed happened outside of the Power Plant's walls, the realization of it had begun to seemingly sink in for the black creatures, their wailing and almost mournful cries dying down as their eyes once again retained a dull blankness, driven by one, singular purpose in mind.

A purpose Vector didn't need to take long figuring out.

A hard blow on his left nearly brought him down whilst the few that were left had immediately gone back to attempting to knock down the remaining pillars, slashing and working at the thick material protecting the abundance of fragile cords and cables. The creature that had struck him had attempted to leap atop of the reptile, yet a swift, quick roll of his body dislodged the black alien from getting a firm enough hold on him, allowing Vector to get up to his feet and running towards the pillar that was currently under siege.

"Hands off, sucker!" the crocodile roared, leaning against the other side of the large structure, two other creatures on the other side, trying to topple it. "I've got a good chunk of my paycheck taken out already, and personally, I'd like to keep it from going down any further!"

The combined force of the two Arms spawn proved to be more of a challenge than what Vector initially anticipated, not to mention that, despite his reluctance to admit it, he was starting to feel a bit worn down. As he continued to exert his own strength against the aliens opposite of him, the detective's eyes took notice of how the bottom portion of the pillar was already beginning to crack, it steadily growing to feel more loose and less solid than before.

If was allowed to do such a thing, Vector would've up and torn this stupid thing out of its place and hurl it right at these guys! 'Heh.' He thought. Funny that such a humorous thing could come to him at a time like this. 'Bet Knuckles would like to see that. Wouldn't be able to say I've been slacking off on by fitness plan then!'

Let alone thoughts of the red echidna.

Another push brought him back to reality, the croc doubling his efforts in keeping the now partially dislodged tower from falling atop of him. 'I could use you right now, Knux.'

Yet another push came, Vector's knees beginning to buckle. 'I could REALLY use you right now!'

Ultimately though, any wishful thinking or pining wasn't going to get him anywhere presently. And besides, outnumbered or not, nobody had called anything off yet!

"I don't know what you guys are getting out of this," Vector told his two current aggressors, not exactly caring whether or not they could even understand him. "But if you think I'm just going to sit down and let you tear up the place, you've got another thing coming!" to the collective surprise of the creatures, they felt the pillar beginning to shift, steadily being forced in a more upward position as it had been before. "Because the Chaotix lives by the policy to the letter! Never turn down work that pays!"

With one more push, it seemed that, at last, he finally gained the upper hand, this little game of see-saw between himself and the Black Arms going in his favor as the pillar now leaned more in their direction instead of his own, Vector still continually applying pressure to the other side of the collection of surging circuits and electricity.

Though this wasn't exactly a 'win' for him entirely. After all, the lower portion that had once been connected to the floor had all but cracked away now.

'If I had known, I would've packed some super glue.' Vector thought bitterly, continuing exerting his force, but now with a bit more delicacy, lest he go and topple the entire thing. That'd REALLY get a good chunk of his already downgraded paycheck taken out. Yet despite all that, the green skinned reptile found his mind wandering, the strain of his muscles chipping away more and more at his stamina, and as such, he tried to distract himself in any way possible. Even if just something small and completely insignificant, he needed something to keep his mind off the increasing aches in his body.

'Charmy had better be keeping himself out of trouble.' The structure had gone too far to the left for his liking, he restraining his strength just a tad. 'And Espio had better be making sure that little striped butt keeps himself out of trouble! Don't need him going and pushing anything he thinks looks 'shiny'.' A light chuckle escaped him at the thought of it. Little thing was always doing something. It was only when he felt the pillar begin to shift more in his direction that he began to exert himself to the level he had before. 'And…Espio had better make sure the little pest is safe. And to keep himself out of trouble too.' It straightened back up, Vector sighing in relief, yet he was growing more than a little tired of this routine. 'Here's hoping you're safe too, Knux. Boss…'

Yet it was then that Vector noticed that, unlike just a few moments ago, the two aliens had seemingly lessened their efforts in pushing back against him, he then peering a bit around the pillar to see the two eyeing him with those same, blank, yet eerily focused eyes. Of course, when a sudden, yet all too familiar chill of instinctual alarm trailed its way up his spine, the crocodile realized then that they weren't directing their attention to him.

And soon, his gut feeling had proved itself to be correct, his brown eyes catching the brief moment of three sharpened claws being raised high before swinging down on their stationary and previously unsuspecting target.

 **Outside of the Ark**

Sonic and Shadow gazed upon what was before them, despite the newly granted power bestowed upon them by the seven Emeralds, the golden aura that radiated off both of them didn't change the simple fact that they were in even more danger than either had been up until now. And whilst Black Doom had always managed to tower over both hedgehogs , now, this new shape he had forced his body to acquire dwarfed them entirely.

If they hadn't been given preview of it before, as well as come to know the otherworldly being by his horns and skin coloring, not to mention the ever present, singularly expressive eye, neither of them would've even recognized who, or what, was before them.

In fact, that eye, once one of three, now appeared to be the only means in which the behemoth could use to survey the two, smaller figures that dared to challenge him, its iris brimming with scorn and fury at the very sight of them.

Black Doom had taken to planting himself atop of the Ark, long, ropey tendrils winding and wrapping around the outside of the ship, essentially making the two inseparable for the time being, and given what had happened previously to make him assume this current form, it was doubtful he'd be letting it go anytime soon. He had decided on his perch and looked on ahead, his appearance and current demeanor almost akin to the image of ancient, stone gargoyles set atop of structures nearly as old as they.

Of course, there was no warding off any evil spirits here. If anything, the misshapen creature had set in mind to keep back anything that would prove to be beneficial to the ship he held in his grasp.

As both hedgehogs had seen before, his head had undergone a good number of changes, the horizontal horns he bore before having grown far longer and more pronounced, though what had once been a closed off, assumedly nonexistent orifice now openly presented itself, a duel set of jaws lined with sharpened rows of jagged teeth that lead to a black, gaping maw that seemed to lead on and on until it was as dark as the vast abyss surrounding them all. His arms had lengthened, as well as his six digits now adding up to eight, a single new finger appearing on each hand. His shoulders were also given the attribute of being double jointed, able to work and operate from either side of his body, though the reason for such a thing being needed was left unknown to his two observers for the time being. And of course, what had really gained the attention of both Chaos powered hedgehogs, a pair of massive, thick skinned wings that slowly flapped, creating no sound, yet still making the motions all the same.

"I guess 'Big Boss' really fits you now, doesn't it?" Sonic spoke up, having had enough of the drawn out, uncomfortable silence perpetuating the area.

Black Doom didn't respond at first, though he had made his displeasure known, his single eye narrowing to where it was little more than a golden slit between two large flaps of darkened skin. Though, as both Sonic and Shadow observed, he didn't seem too perturbed by the blue (or more saturated gold) one's comment.

Something of which neither took as a good sign.

"There's something else." Shadow suddenly said, leaning over to the left, attempting to see behind what was now Black Doom. "Behind him. There's something…sticking out."

"Sticking out?" Sonic questioned, yet upon peering around to the right, he began to see what Shadow was talking about.

It was mostly hidden from view, yet indeed, from behind, or perhaps on the other side of Doom, neither of them knew, some sort of new 'growth' of sorts had been produced that they didn't notice at first. And while what it was exactly had yet to be deduced, yet there was clearly something else.

'Wouldn't surprise me if he's up and grown another head back there.'

"Well?" Shadow asked Doom, said leader of the Black Arms having said nothing since his or their coming out here. "I believe you said you were ready to end my life a few moments ago. Or have your…adjustments made it impossible for you to talk?"

"…hardly…"

Shadow's ears twitched at the small bit of exchange, realizing that Doom was wishing to communicate with both he and Sonic from the other's reaction.

"And while you and the rat may be inclined to do so…given it IS a trait you two unfortunately share…" the massive being transmitted to them, both taking notice that his speech was somewhat slower and less methodical than before, as if he were under a good amount of strain. "…yet it seems that the inability to truly see the gravity of your situation is also a grave flaw plaguing both of you."

Sonic huffed, a curt smirk coming to his lips. "Stalling isn't going to get you anywhere this time."

Yet surprisingly enough, Doom simply huffed back. "I'll use you as an example, rat." He growled. "You didn't come here on your lonesome, yes?" he questioned, Sonic's confidence beginning to seep from his features, befuddlement taking its place. "Aside from that traitorous failure there, was there not another that brought the two of you here?" and with that, befuddlement gave way to realization. Terrified realization. "I wonder…where is the little fox now?"

 **Control Panel**

"What was that?!"

Espio bit down on his lower lip, letting his eyelids fall as slow, collected breaths came in and out.

"I don't know! You're Sonic's smart guy! You tell me!"

The children's concerns were essentially what was currently running through his own mind. The only difference was that he saw fit to keep his frenzied pondering internalized. He had to get himself under control, for his own sake if not theirs.

"I'm not Sonic's 'smart guy', whatever that means!" Tails objected, obviously more than little shaken up at what he and the two Chaotix members had just stumbled upon. "I've never seen anything like that before, so I don't know what to tell you!"

"How about 'it's got a freakishly big eye', or 'there's all these weird, wiggly things its put all over the window'!?" Charmy stated, just as startled, though his speech was far more colorful than the fox's. "And those things have all these weird, green things underneath the skin, pumping some sort of slime or whatever that looks super gross and creepy- "

"QUIET! BOTH OF YOU!"

The two children immediately ceased their frenzied exchange, focusing instead on the chameleon that had barked the order to them.

"Listen," Espio began, voice far lower now. "I don't need to tell you that what we had all just witnessed was more than a little…off-putting to put it mildly," he bit down on his lower lip, gnawing the skin as his mind tried to piece together something that'd at least partially calm the two children. "Yet we're in an area where it can't currently see us, and- "

"Like that matters!" Charmy interrupted. "It saw us! It knows that we're here!" another possibility suddenly hit the little bee. "Oh geez, what if it gets through the window? What if it saw us going here? What if I let it see all that- mph!" a hand clasped over his mouth, forcing him to stop talking.

Espio, upon seeing that the fluttering insect had gotten the message, removed his hand, though this did little to lift Charmy's spirits. Had Vector been here, it probably would've dissolved into little more than a shouting match of 'calm down!' and 'you're being ridiculous, Charmy!' with Espio having to resort to making a rather unorthodox use of his weapons, as well as potentially causing damage to the valuable equipment all around them.

Still, at least it'd be assuring that the big lug was alright.

"Hey," a small voice piped up, both Charmy and Espio turning to see that Tails had decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "Um, I'll admit, I don't really know what we saw out there," the little fox admitted, running his fingers through his golden fur. "Though I'd imagine that it's related to the aliens. Somehow." The chameleon crossed his arms, wondering and hoping that Tails would get to the point, as Charmy was beginning to get frazzled again. "But if that's the case, then that's better for us!"

"What?" the bee questioned. "Have you lost your mind? How's a….a…thing, like that, being here, better for us?!"

"Because Sonic's here!" the fox answered, his tone growing more confident and assured. "That's why we came to the Ark!" though the same couldn't be said for himself, Espio was somewhat surprised by the awe that came to the younger insect's honey colored eyes. "And the Chaos Emeralds are here! That thing outside, whatever it is, doesn't stand a chance once he gets them all!"

'Assuming he does.' The ninja thought, though he dare not speak such a thing now.

"Wait," Charmy then interjected. "Shadow's here too."

Tails nodded. "Yeah, he is. Sonic said he wanted to see what he was up to after the attack on Westopolis, but he sort of invited himself along on the trip."

"Can he use the Chaos Emeralds too?"

Again, Tails nodded.

"So then…" Charmy beamed, a wide smile coming to him. "That freak's going to be a punching bag!"

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, totally!" Tails agreed, going along with the bee's familiarly held (and much more welcome) enthusiasm.

"Oh, it's going to be in SO much trouble!" the insect snickered, the two children then dissolving into a conversation about how exactly the creature would be beaten, Charmy clearly getting more into it than Tails, yet whenever the subject of who'd get more hits on it came up, it turned into something of an argument between whether Sonic or Shadow would be the 'better one' in said fight.

Espio half considered telling them to pipe down, yet they weren't causing too much of a ruckus yet, so he reserved it for a later time. If anything, Tails had practically saved him a whole lot of effort.

Yet should Vector fail (as much as he wished to not have to acknowledge it), then what? What would be their means of defense then?

Yet as the two children went on and on about who'd 'win' in this supposed fight, Espio kept silent, eyeing the door that served as their most current means of protection. 'If Tails is indeed correct in his assumptions,' he thought. 'Then I'd hope you'd make good on your self-proclaimed title as 'the fastest thing alive'.' Yet if Tails was right, then the blue hedgehog wouldn't be the only one fighting for them all. 'And I also hope that he wishes to not make himself out to be a hindrance. If not something worse…'

 **Outside of the Ark**

He was baiting him. No different than all he had done with Shadow before, no doubt, yet still the mentioning of the little fox, his 'keed'…frankly, it was more than enough to nearly get him charging right at the behemoth.

"Honestly, from one that claims to be a defender of that ball of dirt, I would've perceived that such a title meant that the last thing one did was throw caution to the wind." Black Doom sneered, if one could call the rising and spreading of his jaws that. "But it's no matter. His fate will be no different than yours. Along with everyone else aboard the Ark. And you have that waste of flesh and blood to thank for it."

Sonic dared not take his eyes off of Black Doom, yet he motioned to Shadow before gesturing to whatever was beyond, or rather, behind the alien's new monstrous form. But it dawned on the both of them what he was talking about.

"Surely you understand. Neither of you take too kindly to losing ones held dear. Well…" the double horned head leaned forward slightly, that singular, burning eye glimmering with some sort of sick anticipation. "Neither do I, or any of my other children."

"If anyone's making this worse for themselves, it's you- "

"No, no more talking!" Shadow interrupted, red eyes boring into Doom's only one. "I've had it up to here with useless prattle!" he clenched his fist, green energy pouring out from in between his fingers. Without a moment's hesitation, the lighter hued, striped hedgehog bolted forward, a Chaos Lance forming in his hand and aiming directly at the large, vulnerable optic. "This is what happens when you try and deceive the Ultimate Lifeform!"

With that, he threw the green collection of energy towards the eye, Sonic also rushing up with Shadow to get in at Black Doom as well, yet to the dismay of both hedgehogs, the thick lids of the behemoth's eye simply closed, the Lance dispersing and coming apart the moment it made contact with the skin. It must've done some sort of damage, Shadow told himself. It must've, yet even so, his target seemed to not even register it.

Suddenly, while it was faint, a low, creaking moan came to be heard by both Sonic and Shadow, said moan apparently coming not from Black Doom himself, but rather, below him.

As if something was being compressed…or crushed under a good deal of weight.

One of the large hands came down, elongated fingers clawing for one of the two hedgehogs, Sonic unfortunately being the one in the closest proximity. Though instead of being struck, the golden hedgehog utilized the Chaos energy flowing through him, warping out of the way and reappearing from behind the enlarged alien overlord, his differently colored eyes coming to see that there was indeed something on the other side.

'Well, what do you know?' if he didn't realize what this potentially meant for himself and Shadow, the blue blur would've considered such a discovery amusing. 'I was right.'

Black Doom HAD up and grown another head.

It bore a good amount of the same features as the one in front, the main difference being that instead of a set, this particular head bore only one large horn, the part protruding out from what Sonic could only assume to be it's forehead.

And he was more than ready to compare the creature to a unicorn (albeit a very ugly, bad tempered unicorn), yet the sudden opening of the area below the horn had rendered him momentarily speechless, the eye that he had once seen in the front now looking upon him in the back!

"Don't even try it!"

From either side of him, Sonic and Shadow witnessed Doom's multitude of tentacles compress and tighten themselves around the outer structure of the space colony he held, the low moan that was heard before now having what was registered as cracking glass and bending metal accompany it.

"You two may have the aid of the Chaos Emeralds," the single horned head's eye closed, the yellow scalera and red iris coming to gaze upon Shadow once again. "But your use and reliance on them pales in comparison to the thousands of years that I've had to perfect and hone the true capabilities of my race!" the appendages ceased putting pressure on the ship, though they had yet to relinquish their hold. "And my lifespan is but a fraction to that of my kind." The eye closed yet again, the single horned head coming to show the optic to the other hedgehog opposing him. "Had we still been in the belly of the Eclipse Cannon's chamber, you two would be little more than light snacks." Then the eye switched places again, glowering particularly at the lighter colored, striped hedgehog. "But as of now, such a fate is far too kind. Especially for you."

Both Super speedsters looked down at the overwhelming amount of wriggling, winding appendages, as well as the small bits of evidence of the damage they had managed to cause peeking through the thickened, pulsing limbs.

"You want to tangle with us, that's fine with me." Sonic spoke, focus alternating between Black Doom and the Ark. "But keep them out of it. They're in no position to do anything to you."

Doom was silent for a few moments, yet his mandibles spread apart, the eye then coming to be seen from Sonic's end, the mouth pieces attached that particular head mimicking the same motions as the one in front.

"Indeed." The extra extension croaked, almost pleased at his choice of words. "And neither were the thousands of my children that you so 'mercifully' slaughtered just now. They were still on their natural home, bothering no one and waiting for my deliverance to them for nourishment. Were they in any better position than those aboard this husk of metal?"

"Don't give me any of that." Shadow barked back. "You would've just as easily sent a hundred of them to rip our throats out if you wanted. Nothing about any of them is as 'innocent' as you claim."

The eye once again changed its location, staring down the hedgehog that had just called him out, yet despite the insult, Black Doom didn't appear to be particularly angry. In fact, to Shadow's surprise, he had his own retort to it as well, privately shared with the Ultimate Lifeform, echoing throughout his mind.

'Oh, that's rich, coming from you.'

Doom didn't elaborate further on his retort, however, quickly going back to the current subject. "That said, the Black Comet may be gone, yet such a thing has far from deterred the hunger of my brood. In fact, that, coupled with the tragic loss of their own kind, it tends to make them all a little…" he gave the closest thing he could to a smirk. "…unhinged."

Sonic glowered, eyes burning almost as red as Shadow's. "You let one of those things lay a hand on Tails, and- "

"And what, rat?" Black Doom replied. "And what? What can either of you do?" his tentacles began to tighten around the ensnared structure once again. "I have the Ark practically in the palm of my hand! And if not this murderer here," he directed his attention back to Shadow. "I wouldn't have to resort to these measures! In fact, had it not been for his efforts before the comet's destruction, I wouldn't have even needed to come to the Ark!" then he turned to Sonic, his eye switching heads to-and-fro to communicate with both of them. "So, if anything, you have my disobedient, ungrateful spawn to thank for the lives of your friend and all others aboard being in jeopardy!" The single eye narrowed, closing to both of them, neither hedgehog able to see the golden and red optic. "Of course, should you be so brazen and foolish to attack me even now, I may 'accidentally' damage the very foundation of the ship. Perhaps crack or break a few windows." He chuckled darkly. "So, from I can see, your hands are tied! And this is far from the first time I have assumed this form! And unlike you, I can maintain it for as long as I see fit to! For unless you've forgotten, the power of the Emeralds do not last forever."

Shadow found a deathly cold chill overtake him upon hearing that, unable to shake it off entirely, let alone the hunch that Doom had meant that part especially for him.

'Burning. Everything burning. Falling…and burning.'

"So, what is your course of action now? Oh 'Fastest Thing Alive'" it's eye closed once again, going to gaze upon Shadow once again. "…and 'Ultimate Lifeform'?"

The being shut its eyes, both Supers robbed of wars, focus continuously shifting back and forth between the ensnared Ark and the one holding it in his grasp. The ever present, familiar silence that consumed the vastness of the starlit abyss around them would've conveyed a sense of calm in any other situation, yet all three knew better. If anything, silence was simply an indicator that time was running out and a decision needed to be made.

And frankly, from how he sensed his spawn gaining a bizarre interest in the plethora of appendages below him, Black Doom knew that he and the rat would be neck and neck with each other.

Just take care of them. That was all. Take care of them, and then…then they would start anew.

Anew…and bigger.

 **Control Panel**

'No…'

It had begun with light flickers at first. The wave of tremors that had come to rock the ship once again had caused the machines to phase in and out between functioning and not, yet all went back to normal once everything had gone still once again.

'No, no…'

Of course, whether or not it happened due to the shakes itself or some other occurrence down in the Power Plant, the results were ultimately the same. The lights above had dimmed, then went back to their former brightness before dimming yet again. The display presented on the monitor of the room's main computer began to suffer a heavy amount of distortion, words and basic images becoming near unintelligible.

So ultimately, while Espio had always known that such a thing would occur eventually,

'No, no, no!'

That didn't exactly translate to him looking forward to it.

In an instant that none of them could've hoped to have prevented, the entire room was overtaken by darkness, the eyes of the three occupants finding their vision heavily compromised as black was all they were able to see in front of them.

"Espio?!" Charmy's frightened voice called out. "Espio, Tails?! Where are you?!"

The chameleon sighed, focusing his mind and energy on what he was certain stood but a few feet in front of him.

"Charmy! Don't fly around!" Tails called out, having no idea where he was going, yet the sound of the bee's hurried buzzing above his head did little to make this any better.

"Guys?! I can't see you!"

"You're going to hit your head on something if you keep going around like that! Come down!"

'Right out of my mouth.' The ninja thought, Tails practically reading his mind. Still he decided that now was the time to step in, if not just to keep the flighty little insect from causing serious damage to himself.

Despite the lack of light, Espio still allowed for his eyes to shut, ears listening and tracking the ongoing sound of the bee's wings moving at a rapid, panicked pace. Soon, it grew more distinguishable as to where in the room said bee was flying, the child seemingly going around in literal circles around the small perimeter. His gloved fingers twitched, his timing for this needed to be spot on, lest he go and accidentally cause the young detective to be sent flying into the wall or even worse. Just a little bit more. He had just gone above his head. A few more feet, and then he'd be-

"Gotcha!"

Charmy yelped upon feeling a hand seize his ankle, the arm attached to said hand wasting no time in pulling him down to their level. It was only when he had forcibly silenced via a hand to his mouth, as well as pondering the sound of the voice he had just heard, did his panic begin to subside. At least until another pair of hands was felt grabbing at both Chaotix members.

"There you are!" though that wasn't worth any panic either, Tails having finally trekked through the dark to find them. "Sorry I scared you."

"Mmph?" Charmy asked, taking Espio's hand off of his mouth. "Me? Scared? No way! I was just worried about you guys!"

"Of course you were." Tails remarked. "I guess your flying around like crazy was just to scare the monsters away."

No one could see it, yet Charmy shifted his eyes. "Yeah, well…well…well you were scared too! I heard you yelp when the lights went out!"

"What?! I did not!"

"Liar! I heard you! Didn't you hear him Espio?!" Charmy received an answer all right, the older chameleon's hand clasping over his mouth once again.

"Personally, I'd rather that I not hear from EITHER of you!" he growled, his tone authoritative, yet hushed, both children beginning to understand what he was getting at. "Because if I can't, then maybe THEY can't either!"

With that, both of them immediately ceased their squabbling, ears tuned in to any sort of noise that came from outside of the room. A period of silent tension overtook the small space, all three of them instinctively huddling up close to each other, Espio taking to situating himself in front of Tails and Charmy, his weapons at the ready should such a thing be needed. Though he prayed such a thing wouldn't come.

 **Outside the Ark**

The moment the flurry of orange sparks left his fingertips with the swing of his arm, Shadow witnessed them make contact and dig into the blackened flesh of the writing appendages. Green fluid immediately began to leak out from the places the Chaos Spears had struck, yet to Shadow's surprise and dismay, they had seemingly left just as soon as they had appeared, the damaged skin and tissue healing itself at a rapid, almost impossibly fast rate.

'How…how is that- '

"Shadow! Heads up!" the silvery gold hedgehog heard Sonic shout from the other side of the collective mass, he just barely making it out of the way of an incoming tentacle, its flexibility not doing Shadow much good in avoiding its advances. Sonic's own attack against the tentacles couldn't be seen from the other hedgehog's current position, yet given the grunts and sounds of multiple impacts happening all at once, Shadow' didn't need to be told that he too was engaging with Doom's lower half.

Soon, more had begun to join it, each of them set in grabbing at the Ultimate Lifeform, it soon appearing that whichever direction he turned held, there was yet another one of the reprehensible things. His attempt to fly off out of the way of the barrage of writhing flesh was interrupted by a sharp, strong tug on his ankle. Not needing to look back and see what it was, Shadow immediately went to work in trying to free himself, yet found that more and more tentacles joined their fellow appendage, working up to consume his entire leg. With one, combined effort from all of them, Shadow was dragged and flung back, the lack of gravity, as well as the sensation of having no solid surface underneath being more than a little disorienting for him.

Nonetheless, he eventually gained enough focus back to allow him to channel the energy necessary to perform Chaos Control, his golden form beginning to phase out-

"What?!"

Before becoming solid once again, the sensation of a far larger body snagging and constricting around his far smaller waist forcibly breaking his concentration. Before he knew it, an entire forest of the winding, elongated masses of muscle and skin came to descend upon him, creating a tightly knit, disorganized enclosure around him. Aside from the few open spaces presenting the stars and Earth below, the entirety of Shadow's current field of existence consisted of the small space inside the web of tentacles. A web that was quickly growing more and more dense and compact, there barely any room for him as the moments ticked back.

Shadow strained, trying to summon the energy to use Chaos Control amidst the ever present, insistent sensation of his torso being squeezed, air being forced from his lungs, as well as is concentration.

'Come on…' he told himself, gritting and grinding his teeth, a blue hue coming to his small form, struggling to keep itself present. 'Come on! Just a little more!'

He took in as large a breath as he could muster-

"GAHHH!"

Though his vocal command was drowned out in the wailing, agonized cry that emitted from Black Doom.

Chaos Control was executed as it had intended to be, the invoker of said energy coming to once again be at the head of the transformed Black Arms leader. Granted, while he was more than glad in finally escaping from the tentacles below, the sight of the massive alien clutching and grabbing at what seemed to be the other head opposite of the duel-horned one befuddled Shadow to a degree.

At least until a certain other hedgehog came in beside him, once green eyes glimmering with confidence and a sense of victory.

"I take it those wriggly things gave you a hard time, huh?" Sonic questioned, knowing full well what his answer would be. "I know, I tried too. They just shake off, or better yet, patch up, whatever's done to them."

"Then how did you manage to…" Shadow began, stopping himself upon studying Doom for a moment. His arms were bent backward to seemingly cover and grasp at the head on the other side, yet where they were grabbing…he tried to visualize the same motions, but in front. The hands seemed to be covering something, covering the…"Eye."

The eye…yes. Yes, yes, of course! How could he not have seen it before?! In almost every form or extension of Doom he had seen thus far, that one, telltale feature was present on all of them!

"Big Boss actually got to wrapping me up pretty good." Sonic confessed. "And seeing how you were already nice and snug, wherever you were, he decided to get a little too close and personal." He then dusted himself off. "I don't suppose I need to tell you of all people about space, right?"

Unfortunately, no other exchange between the two could be heard, Black Doom having recovered from this brief, small attack on his most vital, and apparently, one major aspect of himself, the eye of the two-horned head opening up wide to glower down at the two hovering below.

"Clever." He simply stated, not giving Sonic any notice or recognition, lest he really unleash everything on the speedster right away. "But don't believe this means you have a clear advantage!" the large, gaping maw that rested below the piercing, golden eye had begun to spread itself wide, the mandibles arching as the orifice stretched and stretched until it was at its maximum, a burning, hot light being seen in the deepest recess of the alien's throat. Though it didn't stay there long, both hedgehogs witnessing the light growing stronger and stronger with each passing second, their newest strategy quickly going to how to avoid whatever would soon be pouring out from the enraged behemoth's throat.

"Behold! Heat and flame that rivals that of the very star that sustains life on that floating rock!"

 **Control Panel**

"Do you…" the chameleon heard Charmy begin to speak, voice quiet and barely above a whisper. "Do you think Vector's okay?" he received no answer at first, Espio not exactly sure what to tell him. "Well? Do you?"

"…I don't know." He didn't feel comfortable in outright lying to the little bee, yet entertaining some of the more…gruesome possibilities would do neither of them any good.

"Well…if Sonic and Shadow are out there…if they are…then will they help Vector?" Charmy questioned, a small part of him knowing that Espio couldn't entirely confirm such a thing, yet he needed something. Anything to at least kindle his belief that eventually, everything would be okay.

"Of course." His answer, however, didn't come from his fellow detective.

Charmy, despite the darkened environment, turned to where he believed Tails to be. "You think so?"

The fox in turn nodded. "I've yet to see something that Sonic couldn't do." His answer wasn't too detailed, yet the sheer amount of confidence in which he delivered it said more than enough. "And if Shadow's with him, well, that's even better, because- "

Thump

Small. It was so small, barely noticeable. And if it hadn't been for Espio shushing them, neither of the two children would've registered it either.

Thump

They attempted to try and huddle in a corner, yet Espio placed his hands on their shoulders, silently ordering the two to keep silent. He turned to the door and withdrew a throwing knife, steadily inching his way to the door.

Thump

Footsteps. Just one pair, yet the light 'click' that accompanied them indicated that they belonged to nothing human, let alone one such as them. The electronic locks were of no good now, they having come undone the moment the power had left. Yet thankfully, someone constructing this ship had the foresight to install manual locks for the doors. Good thing too, because now, they seemed to be the only source of protection they could rely on.

THUMP

Yet Espio had to get close enough to turn it. And even more, do it at the right time, otherwise…

THUMP

It was now or never. Reaching forward, he took ahold of a small dial-like device stationed in the wall, he ever so slightly began to turn it.

THUMP

Just a little more. He could feel the lock turning.

THUMP

It was close. Closer than he would've liked. And with what was to come, it was inevitable that it'd come.

THUMP

But…perhaps not. True, the possibilities of whether or not the creature could sense them via smell or some other sense were accounted by Espio, yet that didn't exactly mean it was traveling down the hall outside specifically for them. Right? Maybe if they just remained silent, it'd pass right by them. After all, what sort of interest would it have in any of them at the moment?

THUMP

Then again, if that were indeed the case, as Espio observed, why did it sound like it had decided to just stop right outside the door?

 **Outside the Ark**

Burning.

Burning.

The devil's massive head lurched forward, jaws spread apart and once darkened mouth overtaken with the light of a near unfathomable amount of high temperature, fiery energy that was just moments away from being released.

Despite themselves and the shimmering, golden hue that surrounded them both, neither hedgehog doubted that there was no feasible defense they could muster against it. Save for what was perhaps the more mundane and natural of their abilities, even if there was no solid ground beneath.

The contents of Black Doom's throat began pouring outward, the massive being barely able to be seen over the incoming and quickly approaching wall of flaming heat.

'Run!'

Sonic and Shadow immediately split away from each other, their floating forms flying further and further away from the raging flares emitting from the massive alien, making their way over to the other side, only to find that the opposite side of Black Doom had become active once again, the head following in the same fashion as the other and expelling the same wall of flames right in their direction.

The two hedgehogs wasted no time in utilizing Chaos Control, warping out of the vicinity of the two sets of flaming heat entirely, though their momentary escape was far from the most pressing issue on their minds.

The fact that Doom could utilize both heads subsequently had already been discovered, yet for such a thing as the flames expelling from one to be transferred to the other with such ease…

"Whoa," unfortunately, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," that didn't seem to be all. "You see that?"

Shadow looked down from his current perch, he also coming to see what Sonic was gesturing to, both of them soon realizing, to their horror, what this exactly meant.

The Emeralds, as well as their awe-inspiring power, were in their hands, yet in their haste to get away from the fiery barrage emitting from both of the overlord's heads, neither had taken to noticing the red hue developing around the winged devil. It couldn't have been him charging up for a Chaos Blast. No, this seemed to be something far more accessible…and more than a little familiar.

'Oh no.' they had been fools! How could they not have seen it?! 'No, no, no!'

Sonic and Shadow recognized what Black Doom was preparing for, making a mad dive downward, a blue hue developing and consuming each of them in contrast to the far larger collection of red energy below.

Still, even as their own power had reached its peak,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

To their horror, even as the movements of the transformed monster down below had grown slow, the reddish aura ultimately had reached its peak as well.

And despite the power of the stones that both parties had sought for all this time, ultimately, the alien's naturally built in ability had been activated and prepared far before either of the two hedgehogs realized it.

Thus, to their shared shock and dismay, the two had found that, even as they dove down with the enhancement to their speed, in the end, it mattered not.

 **Control Panel**

"Sir! What's going on-AHHH!"

The ivory haired aged man had begun to turn towards one of the men under his command, finding that the very floor beneath him grew unsteady, losing his footing and falling to the ground below. And from the sounds of startled cries and bodies contacting the floor, it became certain that he was far from the only one to experience such a sensation.

The area that he and the portion of men he had been with had been fortunate enough to find an area where any sort of vulnerable window or viewing glass wasn't present, yet Commander Tower soon found that this was both a blessing and a curse. True, they were safe from any open passages to the void outside, yet now they were unable to even seen what was going on outside! First tremors and now the entire ship was being rocked?! Just what was going on?!

Still, regardless of being robbed of details regarding their situation, he had men here that needed his guidance in this crucial time. And if who he suspected was responsible had indeed been causing this, they'd' need him now more than ever. "GRAB AHOLD OF WHATEVER YOU CAN! DON'T LET GO FOR ANYTHING!" he ordered, the uniformed soldiers wasting not time in trying to grip onto anything that was stationed to the floor.

'It's him.' It was useless, it did noting to benefit himself or his men. Yet all the same, once he started, he couldn't stop himself. 'It's him, I know it! He's doing this! He…that monster's responsible for this!'

The entire room was rocked back and forth, objects and people alike being flung this way and that, slamming into walls, or in some cases, the very ceiling. The Commander himself found his own grip on a panel about to slip, his gloved fingers gripping and holding on with whatever amount of strength he could muster.

"WATCH OUT!" his ears heard, the sight of a young man sliding across the floor grabbing his attention, the older man immediately reaching out and seizing the soldier by the ankle. Of course, he had realized he just added on more weight, yet the lad had somehow up and lost his helmet, and had he not caught him, would've probably been sent right into the western wall, head first.

Still, perhaps he had only delayed the inevitable, for ultimately, it'd only be a few more moments before his own strength would give out.

Yet as the Commander's predication came true, the very moment his fingers finally slipped, the older man found that neither he nor the young soldier went flying back. In fact, to his and his men's collective shock…everything had stayed still. As soon as it had begun, it had stopped.

Everything had stopped.

Yet despite this, even with nothing available in plain sight to confirm this, Commander Tower found himself plagued with the sense that despite them all still being in the same room, something had changed.

As if they all had been…moved.

 **Outside the Ark**

Their eyes found nothing in any direction they searched, and they did indeed search. All around, the Super Powered hedgehogs scanned the vast, endless void of stars, nothing able to be found save for a lone, blue planet and its singular, halved moon.

"Where's the Ark?!"

"I don't see it!"

The two Supers exchanged back and forth, knowing that in the end, simply questioning the location of the once present space colony was useless, as well as the monster that had decided to take roost atop of it.

Yet still…how far could he go? Chaos Control was near infinite in its ability, but Doom's more 'natural' method of teleportation, while certainly not as powerful (at least Shadow had hoped so), it was still nothing to simply dismiss. After all, Shadow didn't get all the way to that canyon and up in the skies by himself. And though it was in itself little more than an assumption, the alien's twisted new form and increased size seemed to give him some new abilities. And perhaps, with that, it also enhanced those already possessed.

And out here, in the infinite realm of darkness only brightened by the presence of selectively placed astral bodies, it was perhaps safe to assume that, to both hedgehogs' dismay, he could be, let alone go anywhere.

'…?!'

Or…maybe not.

"Shadow?" Sonic looked at his current fighting partner and had no idea what he was doing. One moment, he was searching around for the Ark with just as much intensity and desperation as he, yet the next, he had apparently gone and decided to do some sort of a 'Zen meditation' or something or other. The lighter colored Ultimate Lifeform had gone and, for whatever reason, closed his eyes and floated completely still, but the ever present look of intense focus and concentration never left his features.

Sonic didn't understand, at least not at first. It was only when Shadow's red eyes shot wide open and his gloved hand gestured forward did his actions become clear.

"There!" he suddenly stated, pointing past the Earth. "Use Chaos Control, it'll get you there quicker!" Sonic had no protest to that. Besides, truth be told, perhaps it was just because the other hedgehog was here with him…but flying over the Earth…frankly, the further away he could separate himself from that, the better.

The Supers warped themselves on the other side of the planet, at a reasonably equal distance where the Ark had last been. Suddenly, just mere feet in front of them, a bright flash of red overtook their field of vision, momentarily blinding them until the flash had died down, revealing what and who they had been searching for, his single, burning eye piercing through the two of them.

"Well, well," Black Doom began, his tone indicating a mix of shock and intrigue. "Utilizing our small little bond to locate me…I'm surprised at you, Shadow." Though this didn't last long, voice lowering to that of an angered snarl. "If this had occurred before all this unnecessary chaos, it would've pleased me greatly."

The Ultimate Lifeform responded with a disgusted grimace. In truth, he had surprised himself too. It was just a hunch, yet from all Doom had been able to do, surely there was something he could utilize through their shared 'link', even if it was mainly done due to there being no other options.

And unfortunately for him, he had to admit that from the way things were looking…there would indeed be no other way to go around this. He'd have to do it.

"Do you realize now whom you're dealing with, rodents?" the oversized extraterrestrial bellowed, the Ark being lightly squeezed in his multiple appendages. "Even without the Chaos Emeralds, I still outrank you entirely! There is nothing that either of you can do to stop what you've already laid for yourselves!"

"Bold words coming from a guy who had more than half of his entire army blown up!" Sonic shot back, eyeing the entrapped ship with uncharacteristically nervous eyes. He could only hope and pray that his little keed was somewhere secure. "And assuming you DO somehow manage to beat us, which you won't, what then? You have nowhere to go to, seeing how everyone on Earth wants you and your 'kids' gone! So, unless you somehow got some outside help, all you guys have is that dingy little ship or just half of a moon!"

Doom's reaction to Sonic's rebuttal was…well, frankly, nothing short of unexpected.

He did nothing but simply float there at first, wings casually moving up and down, his features remaining neutral for a good few moments before his maw began rising upward, the folds of blackened skin around the mandibles folding and creasing, making deep wrinkles that both Sonic and Shadow found themselves likening to that of some sort of twisted, gleeful smile.

An angry Black Doom was far preferable to an amused one.

"Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm…"

Neither of them liked where this was going.

"What?" Sonic questioned. "What's so funny?"

The horned being ceased his guttural chuckles, the single eye staring down at the two smaller, Emerald charged supers, yet his answer was reserved only for one.

'He will never be able to understand, let alone see.' Shadow heard echoing in his mind. 'But perhaps, before I deliver you to the next life…I shall present you what you have…and will miss out on.'

In that instant, the second his mental message to his 'child' finished, he and his formerly blue companion witnessed yet another hot light developing from within the throat of the winged, malformed, devil. Thankfully for them (at least they believed so at first), the light appeared to not belong to another wall of raging flares, yet a barrage of smaller, white, laser like beams of energy being expelled from his mouth.

Of course, with these smaller projectiles being shot in their direction, that meant that instead of a single, solitary wall, there were multiple of these obstacles to be avoided. And as the two hedgehogs found, they were far from being confined to simply heading in one direction. In fact, if they didn't know any better, they would've…no, there was no assuming at this point. They WERE homing in on them.

Shadow and Sonic found that either they were flying this way or that, or having to go through lengthy spans of frequently utilizing Chaos Control just to keep themselves out of the line of fire. They couldn't even get in a few feet closer to Black Doom! And that was just with one head! In an attempt to find some cover, they teleported to the other side of the behemoth, only to find the single horned head had gone and begun expelling lasers as well! Now they had two heads going at it, delivering beams of energy from their mouths, all of them rapidly approaching whichever of the two they found themselves closest to!

Finally though, after what seemed to be either minutes of this constant evading and dodging, both of Black Doom's heads ceased firing, albeit momentarily. It seemed even he couldn't go on forever.

"This..." Sonic huffed, both he and Shadow finding themselves a little winded. "This isn't exactly going how I'd picture it would."

"And…how exactly…would you have pictured it?" Shadow questioned, said question entirely rhetorical though. "With him simply bowing to your might and letting you hurl him into the sun?"

"I said it wasn't how I pictured it, that doesn't mean I pictured it as being boring." Sonic in turn retorted. "But…heh, I'll keep the sun part in mind. That sounds pretty cool."

As tempting as it was to roll his eyes at the younger's jest, Shadow had far more concerning matters on his mind. This wasn't getting them anywhere, and so far, only one portion of this form of Black Doom had been seen to be vulnerable. Not to mention, even if it was just one of the number of truths he didn't wish to acknowledge, the otherworldly being was right. If such a form was a natural thing for him, then they, or rather, the Emeralds' powers would wear out quicker than he would.

His gloved fingers clenched themselves into a tight fist, his teeth biting down hard on his lower lip. He told himself, Shadow mentally repeated. He told himself that…he would hate it. He would HATE having to acknowledge it, acknowledge what it meant for him, as well as how he had been so blind and foolish to not recognize it earlier. Yet still, he told himself, that if there was no other way, no other feasible method for him to use…then there was no other way but this.

But perhaps…perhaps it would serve him as well.

"Sonic."

In fact…no. Not perhaps. He'd MAKE it serve him well.

"What? Don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

It'd just be this once though.

"I…" just this once. "I'm going to try something. Something that, if you did it, I'd consider you nothing short of an idiot."

Just this once.

"Oh gee, how flattering. And here I thought us being out here again like this would be good bonding time."

Just this once.

"I'm going to go up to him. And I want you to stay away."

He wouldn't like it. Neither of them would.

"Wha-huh?! Yeah, I'd consider the guy who'd go and do something like that a total idiot! As in you!"

But it was the only option they had that had a chance of working.

"I don't recall saying that your input had any impact."

And besides, it'd just be to serve himself in the end. To show Doom that their 'bond' didn't matter.

"Besides, I've already made up my mind. You're part of it too. Just only when I decide."

At least, that's what Shadow told himself. He had to believe this.

"Shadow, don't. This…I don't want you to go doing this again- "

He had to.

"Don't come until I give you the signal."

If he were to truly prove himself the Ultimate.

"Shadow, wait!"

And to show this invader that bond or no bond, blood or no blood, he was no child of his.

Right?

 **Control Panel**

"What…was that?" was what he had tried to get out, yet a majority of it came to sound like a near intelligible slurring, the young fox still gripping tightly on his injured head.

One moment they were all fine, as fine as one could be in a situation such as this. Yet the next, Tails honestly couldn't entirely recall. It couldn't have been what happened, yet it certainly felt like the entire room had gotten flipped upside down, all three of them either slamming into objects or fragile equipment or off the very walls themselves! At least he assumed so, given that Charmy had apparently gone and flown straight into one when the sudden quaking began.

Though this felt far different that the one before.

Yet just as soon as it had begun, it stopped, leaving the two-tailed Vulpes sprawled out on the floor, a pounding ache assaulting his temples that he found he couldn't simply massage away. But if it had stopped, then perhaps that meant-

"Ah!" he gave a light squeak at the sensation of a hand clasping his wrist, yet the voice he heard immediately caused him to calm down.

"Are you alright?" Espio questioned, Tails not entirely able to see him too well (he was a fox in some senses, some not), but from the faint outlines that were before him, he could identify that the chameleon was fine, as well as the bee beside him.

"Y-Yeah." The little genius answered. "I'm okay." It was then that his eyes turned to the door, as well as the tiny bit of natural light seeping in from the small bit of space between it and the floor. He couldn't help but wonder whether or not they'd be so fortunate. Yet still, perhaps that shake, whatever it had been (it somewhat reminded him of Chaos Control, minus any sort of smoothness in the journey), had garnered their interest enough to abandon coming in here. Perhaps they were even too startled by it to go and try to look for cover somewhere. After all, what sense would there be in trying to break in here?

None.

CLICK!

None at all.

CLICK!

So…why was the lock outside being toyed with yet again?

CLICK!

The lock was still being fiddled with, the action of trying to pull it light at first, yet in short time, grew more forceful and violent, the very door beginning to lightly tremble at the amount of strength being used in trying to get it to come undone.

Soon though, the figure's attention had diverted away from trying to dismantle the lock to the structure of the door, light tapping heard against the surface, echoing within the small, darkened space the three resided in.

 **Outside the Ark**

A light pulse.

That's all he had felt, yet such a thing, even now, was not to be ignored.

True, he had the Ark, as well as light compensation for his comet's destruction inside, yet given all he had seen both the defenders of Earth and his own spawn do in opposing him, Black Doom found himself plagued with some strange sense of...concern?

No, that wasn't quite right. Frankly, he wasn't entirely sure himself, and even then, he perhaps wasn't exactly ready to acknowledge such a thing. In fact, he had begun to consider himself foolish for even entertaining such a thing in the first place!

Still though, despite his dismissal, the thought, as well as the knot developing in his chest, refused to leave him be. Even as the bond alerted him that, surprisingly enough, one of his own was coming right towards him. Indeed, in a flash of blue, Shadow the Hedgehog appeared before the duel-horned head, his own red eyes gazing upward at the single optic looking down at him.

"Where's the blue rat?" Doom snarled, all the while trying to read through his spawn's stony features. "Did he actually let you come here on your lonesome?"

Shadow remained unmoved, though his brows furrowed. True, the sheer amounts of Chaos Energy flowing through him had assisted in keeping such an intrusion at bay, yet still, he could still sense Doom trying to pry his way into his thoughts, that blasted eye practically drilling its way through his very mind.

"What he's doing is nothing of concern to you." The Ultimate Lifeform answered back, the ever present sense of intrusion keeping him on his toes. "If anything, you should be more concerned about who's in front of you at this very moment."

Black Doom scoffed at this, all the while trying to pry further into the hedgehog's thoughts. "Oh really?" 'The energy of those stones is strong, I shan't deny that. But nevertheless, blood prevails in some areas.' His head leaned in closer. 'I KNOW you can hear me.'

"Yes, really." Shadow answered back, in more ways than one. 'I'm more than aware of that.' He confessed mentally. 'As well as how you know where I'm going.'

'Hmm, you're catching on. Finally.'

'Yet with that said,' Doom's eye widened, puzzled at his spawn's actions, yet also of what he was clearly planning. 'You're forgetting about one thing.' Thing…no, it was not a thing. He was referring to something else. Someone else. 'Though, for once, I can't say I entirely blame you.' Shadow communicated. 'I honestly didn't think he'd come back from that when you sent both of us through that window.'

Both?

He then realized his spawn's trickery. Yet by the time it was discovered, it had already been too late.

"SONIC! NOW!"

 **Note: Again, I'm sorry about stopping so soon, but given the technical problems, I wanted to get out what I could should anything go wrong. Anyhow, here's hoping you enjoy it so far! The beginning is soon reaching its end, and then the real story can begin!**

 **Thank you all for your support! Alert me of any errors you see!**


	10. Catalyst of Convergence Part 10

**Note: Hello! Bit of a lengthy read up ahead, but I wanted to get this out before Hurricane Florence comes our way! Granted, me and my family live in a more inland, mountainous region of North Carolina, but we're still at risk of flash floods. So, with that said, here's the conclusion of the battle with Black Doom! I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10:Catalyst of Convergence Part 10**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

"Get near the walls." Espio commanded the children, neither Charmy nor Tails having any objections to that, though they needed some guidance, the chameleon providing such as the moved towards the most southern part of the small, dome-like space.

What sounded to be claws being dragged down the surface of metal could be heard, multiple 'scritch-scratch' noises making the journey to the room's end all the more hurried. And just as before, they steadily began to become more aggressive when it was found that the tactic wasn't working.

"It'll hold." Espio told the two adolescents, his voice not entirely certain itself, yet still he went on. "That door's solid as a rock. It can't get through there."

At first, the chameleon's words seemed to indeed be the truth. Yes, the creature outside scratched, fiddled, then punched, kicked, and threw its entire body into the door's surface, but all that came of it were the resulting noise its attempts created. Though they weren't exactly much of a determent either. The reverberating vibrations of its fists and feet traveled down the lengthy halls of the ship, allowing each of the small control panel's occupants to know of just how much strength this one creature was managing to exert.

It didn't even seem to even register that but a few moments ago, the entire ship was flung around like mad, it not even taking the precaution to go to somewhere safer and ideally away from any windows. It went right back to what it had initially set out to do before with no regard for the possibility of whatever happened before occurring again.

Still, Espio thought, despite that, for the time being, they should be alright. Just one of them couldn't break its way through. It'd take far more than just one.

"Look!" Charmy whispered harshly, pointing to the door, or rather, the small amounts of light that crept in from underneath.

Said light soon being overtaken by a mass of darkened shadows from the outside.

 **Outside the Ark**

"SONIC! NOW!"

The impact was swift.

As was the resulting pain that assaulted both his optic and vision.

Not but a second, perhaps even shorter than that, after his spawn had called upon the blue rat, said vermin had appeared right in front of his golden eye, the flash of blue being in such close proximity nearly blinding the massive, transformed shape of Black Doom before he found the surface of his surprisingly soft, vulnerable optic being thrust into, the golden hedgehog slamming his body into the tissue before he bounced right off. The surface had gone back to its original form, yet the impact of Sonic's homing attack had lingered, the sheer amount of energy and force that had been exerted onto the one, vulnerable area left Doom with little option but to instinctively cup one misshapen hand over the singular eye that continued to throb inside one of his two heads.

As Doom was left to his own devices momentarily, obviously too overcome to do anything at the moment, Sonic turned to Shadow, of whom only watched as the Black Arms leader continued to writhe and released agonized screeches.

"Not a bad plan." The Fastest Thing Alive chuckled, the other hedgehog still keeping his stony features. "Course you know that I was planning on giving the big guy here a piece of my mind as it is."

"All the more reason to make sure you'd do something useful while you were at it." Shadow answered back, though his gaze did not leave Doom.

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome."

Thankfully, for now, any sort of animosity between the two was put to the side, it now clear (especially to Shadow, begrudgingly) that both of their efforts would be needed. Besides, ultimately, they shared the same goal, it still nestled in the confines of the alien's numerous appendages.

Speaking of which, neither hedgehog found it particularly comforting that Black Doom had suddenly gone quiet. True, he still held one hand over his eye, yet it appeared that he had managed to mostly work through the pain that followed Sonic's blow. It wasn't long before he removed his hand, though the eye did not appear before them. A blank, featureless surface of darkened grey had seemingly taken its place, the thick lids of the eye closing on it soon, giving the appearance that Doom wasn't even looking directly at them.

"Clever…" the behemoth snarled, voice caught in a limbo between amused and furious. "I imagine that's what you're thinking right now, isn't it?" the head before them tilted a bit. "No wait, don't tell me. I already know."

Neither of the two Supers answered, though Shadow's lips tightened uncomfortably.

'Oh really?' the red streaked hedgehog thought, allowing this string of thoughts to be heard freely. 'Then how about this?'

If it hadn't been for the lingering sting in his eye, Doom would've let himself be humored by the string of foul insults and obscenities that his spawn had just shared with him.

'My, my! Such language!' he shared, surprised that Shadow wasn't trying to block him out too hard. He had wanted him to respond. 'I don't know where you learned that from, but it certainly wasn't any of us.'

Shadow was about to retort, yet any sort of formulated thinking was interrupted by the sight of a familiar red hue beginning to envelop the oversized being's body.

'No dinner for you tonight then. Too bad. For we're about to have a grand feast.' Doom communicated, the glow having nearly consumed his entire form, as well as the ship entangled below him. Sonic and Shadow immediately dove forward, flashes of contrasting blue overtaking their bodies as Chaos Control amplified their speed, bringing them closer and closer to the now transporting Doom.

The body of the Black Arms leader, instead of simply disappearing in a blur of vibrant, deep red, his very body seemed to almost look as if it were a steady flow of surging energy that traveled down the length of his entire form. From the upper portion of his body and then working its way down, winding through each and every tentacle that held the Ark in its grasp.

And whilst Sonic and Shadow were successful in reaching the captured ship, as they held onto some outer railing in anticipation for what was to come, there was one particular detail that the latter of the two had taken notice of as they made their journey to the ship.

The red energy, in its travels throughout Black Doom's enlarged form, began from behind the head bearing two horns. And while the exact area was speculation at best, its position seemed to be around where, on the other head, its lone eye would've been located.

Then, they had begun moving.

In a strikingly similar manner of Chaos Control, Doom, along with the Ark, had begun traversing through the starlit void at a velocity that broke the boundaries of what was possible, the once stationary, luminous balls of gas and light becoming stretched and warped before the hedgehogs' very eyes, the planet Earth and its lone moon appearing in a similar manner as the massive alien flew over the two.

Though, as Sonic and Shadow soon realized, to their collective horror, they were moving away from the planet. The Ark was being taken outside of not only its natural place in the skies, yet out of its set position above the Earth.

He was taking it away from the planet.

This immediately spurred both Supers to try and get a better hold on the rapidly traveling space colony, yet the speed at which they were traveling proved to make things quite difficult, even in their current states of elevated power. Not to mention exhausting, the strain of the travel, despite it only having been no more than a few seconds, each of those seconds were tumultuous and agonizing to the two smaller beings.

And like it or not, Doom's earlier statement was more than true.

Neither of them quite liked like, if not outright despised it, yet if they went and depleted themselves now, they'd be of no use at all.

Sonic and Shadow's decisions were unanimously made, each, albeit with a last moment's lingering hesitation, allowing their fingers to release their hold on the ship, the two hurling backward and spinning wildly as the Ark, along with Doom himself, vanished from sight.

"Where's he going?" Sonic questioned, Shadow in turn focusing his efforts on finding the overlord.

'Just this once.' "He's…" the Ultimate Lifeform began, not entirely certain at first, yet with just a bit more concentration, he felt something. "He's just ahead. More towards the northwest." He answered.

"But?" Sonic pressed further. Despite having gotten an answer, the manner in which Shadow delivered it didn't exactly entail that everything was fine.

The other hedgehog inwardly cringed. The pest was sharp, he'd give him that. "I don't know, but it…" there was no way that he'd acknowledge it anymore than he had to. Let alone address it as anything other than that. "It feels strained. As if it's growing more difficult to track him the further away he gets."

Sonic's eyes narrowed at this bit of news, his gaze set in the direction mentioned before. "Little strategy of yours seemed to work out fine. Mind doing a little more of that?"

"I knew you wouldn't stay put. You practically did all the work for me." Shadow in turn responded. "Though Doom's taste of defeat is going to come from me and ONLY me."

"Well, what are you waiting for? We know now that Big Boss' got a bit of an eye problem, so let's go 'cure' it!" he then flew off, Shadow in turn doing the same, the two soon coming to be around neck and neck as they traversed through the endless void at high speed.

Though the sight of an incoming wall of flares heading in their direction made them momentarily halt in their journey. At least they could confirm they found who they were searching for.

 **Power Plant**

He found himself rendered speechless.

Whether it be from the sudden force that overcame the entire area or simply due to the fact said force had quite literally thrown him up against the wall, it ultimately didn't matter. Vector was mainly wishing and praying that it'd stop.

Thankfully, it had, albeit that in itself held its own brand of dangers.

Upon the sudden influx of pressure coming to an end, the croc found himself falling flat onto the walkway to the four data storages.

"Oooohhh…" he moaned, the scratches on his back were nothing compared to that. "My back…"

He about to hoist himself up until his foot slipped over the edge, the reptile stopping himself with his hands on the flooring and maneuvering his dangling limb back on solid ground.

He was aware of the fact there was a bit of a fall down below the walkway and lone platform in the chamber, yet it was only now that he had taken to noticing just how long of a drop it was. The walls of green, scrolling binary code continued on and on until the glow of the numerous sets of '0's and '1's grew difficult to see (what little of it there was, as a few portions of the walls had gone dead entirely). Down, down, down, it went, a sea of black seemingly at the bottom, the abundant green light all around him not even able to brighten whatever lay down below.

Well, whatever. He knew better than to go anywhere near that. 'I'd hate to be the guy that'd have to take a tumble like that.'

Indeed, which was something of which the beings he previously battled with had suffered. Though evidence of it was somewhat difficult from his current position to see, he could somewhat catch the deep indents and markings of what must've been nails or claws dragging themselves along the flooring or on the sides of the single pillar that remained standing.

Wait a minute. Single? Last time he checked, there were two-

SCREECH!

'Oh-'

He turned his head, his eyes catching the approaching form of the one black creature that hadn't been sent tumbling down into the pit edging its way at the base of the platform, right where the walkway met. And above its head, held aloft and ready to be thrown right in his direction, was one of the very objects he was assigned to protect.

'Great.'

 **Outside the Ark**

The wall of flares were coming in fast, it only being mere seconds before it'd make contact with the two heading straight for it.

Though said individuals approaching it were more than prepared.

With a flash of blue, the two had seemingly disappeared from view, only to appear right on the other side of the wall. Wide as it was, it was clear to see that the same couldn't have been said for height.

And lo and behold, the monstrous cause of said wall lay just behind it.

Black Doom wasted no time in immediately engaging with the two hedgehogs, his duel-horned head releasing a flurry of lasers from its gapping maw, the journey towards the behemoth somewhat slowed by the fact they had to couple moving forward with dodging the burning hot projectiles seemingly rushing on by at nearly every angle.

All the same, Chaos Control certainly made things easier.

'Okay, Shads.' Sonic thought, seeing the other Super going on ahead, right towards the sole optic ahead of them. 'Ready anytime.'

* * *

'Ah, he comes.'

Whilst said musing wasn't shared openly with his spawn, Black Doom had acknowledged he was here, his golden-silvery form reflecting in the moist surface of his ever present, ever watching eye. There, Shadow simply floated, determined and pushing himself to not break eye contact with the larger being before him.

'Well?' said being asked, this thought shared with his disobedient, unruly child. 'Plan on delivering anymore spiel on my supposedly inevitable demise?'

'Funny.' The hedgehog answered back, his lips tightening as the invasive pressure was quickly felt again. 'Then again, hypocrisy would mean little to the likes of you.'

There was a twinge of anger that came following his remark, yet to Shadow's surprise and befuddlement, it was little more than a mere sliver of what he had come to see from Doom. If anything, he disregarded it as little more than the backtalk of a juvenile delinquent. Of course, such a thing slighted the Ultimate Lifeform, yet he dared not allow Doom to have such satisfaction, thus he simply brushed it off. Little more than the complaints of a disgruntled insults of a dying old man, he thought.

'I think the beings on that planet have a saying for that too.' Doom answered. 'Some sort of utensils they use in preparation for meals calling some other utensil a certain color, when in reality, it fails to realize it shares the exact same features as the one it's chastising?'

'Whether they do or not, I don't care.' Shadow responded, readying himself for the alert. 'Besides, you've done a terrible job even alluding to what it is.' At the very least, he knew what a pot and kettle were compared to him.

The horned devil didn't retort back. He said, nor shared anything. And despite himself, the smaller hedgehog found that the silence concerned him more than whenever the alien was communicating.

Well, that in itself wasn't exactly correct, but it still a method that he was far from accustomed to, let alone comfortable with.

He was delivering something to him, even with Shadow's best efforts to keep him from delving in any further past the upper layers of his consciousness. Nothing constructed with words, yet of sensations and signals. What he had told Black Doom had ignited something within him, he in turn sharing it with Shadow, which in turn had a similar effect for himself as well.

'Hypocrisy would mean little to the likes of you.' The hedgehog's mind suddenly found intruding upon it, the voice not being the one of the monstrous lifeform before him, yet his very own. In fact, it was little more than a part of an earlier jab he delivered to Doom just now. 'Hypocrisy…' it was far from a time to muse, yet the repeating of that phrase held more to it than a simple mock back to him. A considerable amount of weight accompanied the word according to the waves being transmitted to him via the being before him. And whilst Shadow was left flabbergasted and befuddled as to why, the signals and sharing of Doom's emotional state told him that the being knew. He knew EXACTLY why. But it was no longer for him, he had squandered his chances.

'That reminds me.' Black Doom began, his voice something of a surprise after the small bit of silence. 'There's something else that those beings on Earth that fits. In fact, it fits perfectly right now more than ever.'

Shadow gathered himself and got into a fighting position. Now all he needed was for his current comrade to see his cue and come forward.

'Very scarcely do others manage to fool me once.'

His stance began to falter. No. No, he knew it. He KNEW what he was trying to do!

'And those that do never get the chance to do it again.'

Yet by the time Shadow realized it, there was nothing that could be done. Sonic warped in front of him, ready to dive forward and slam into the alien's eye.

"WAIT, STOP-"

Though what met the other hedgehog's golden form was a far cry from the soft tissue of an eyeball. In fact, from what he could tell, the surface was far tougher and densely packed. An arm? The impact sent Sonic flying back until he stopped himself, coming to see that his assumption had been somewhat off.

An arm was what was coming right towards him. The left wing still remained over the lone eye, the other still moving as if it were keeping the form it was attached to afloat in this weightless space.

 **Power Plant**

It bounced, surprisingly enough. Vector hadn't even suspected such a thing as that could bounce. And yet here it was: landing on the uppermost tip and cartwheeling in the air, heading straight towards him.

Seizing the chance the moment he spotted a space he could potentially squeeze through, the Chaotix detective immediately dove forward, sliding on his scaled stomach as the storage unit flew on over him, crashing straight into the door and then bouncing off to the side, plummeting downward into the blackened, fathomless pit below.

Though it became clear that Vector hadn't exactly dove forward to safety, his journey stopped by the bridge of his elongated snout meeting the two toed, clawed foot of the creature standing above him.

Brandishing its claws, the Arms spawn slashed downward, the crocodile rolling out of the way to try and maneuver himself out of the way of the sharpened instruments, yet found he was left with very little room to roll to.

"Wh-WHOOOAA!"

And soon, it became even less than that. First it started with his tail and legs, then as gravity began to take hold, Vector found that he was nearly entirely off the walkway, his gloved hands grabbing hold of the edge just in time to keep from plummeting down.

Then he took notice of something sharp being applied to said hands, the owner of those sharpened things looking down at him with blank, paleish-yellow eyes.

 **Outside the Ark**

The beginnings of Chaos Control were rendered as little more than wisps of blue dissipating into the space above, the digits of the massive hand that managed to seize the Fastest Thing Alive wrapping around his smaller, golden form, and tightening them to where even the most basic of struggling and wriggling was near impossible.

Shadow flew forward, delivering a hard, solid kick to the horned being's forearm, yet then brought himself closer to the wing shielding the eye when this proved to have no effect.

'Spear won't do you much good here.'

'No. That's why I have something 'bigger' in mind.'

The Ultimate Lifeform's silvery-golden hue began to take on a faint twinge of red, rivaling that of his streaks and eyes, said hue growing stronger and stronger in but a second or two, thanks to the currently present amount of combined Chaos Energy. In its build up, he drew ever closer, Doom's wing beginning to shudder somewhat from the influx of power coming to the smaller hedgehog.

"CHAOS BLA- "

"SHADOW, LOOK OUT!"

Sonic's words ultimately were for naught, for as soon as he saw it shooting up from Black Doom's lower half, a part of him knew well that it was already too late.

In the midst of beginning to release the energy he had been building up, the other hedgehog found his middle grasped and trapped in the hold of a writhing tentacle, said appendage wrenching him from his perch atop of Doom's arm and slinging him downward. The suddenness of the descent was then interrupted by the sensation of being thrown forward, Shadow managing to catch his own reflection in the glass of the window he was about to head right into.

And with no time to stop the maneuver he was about to perform on the alien overlord.

 **Control Panel**

"What was that?!" Tails shouted, beating Charmy to his own exclamation of the sudden 'BOOM' that rattled the area near them. It certainly didn't feel strong enough to be from…whatever had ahold of them, yet it was close. In fact, from his estimations, it sounded like it had come from where they all had seen the monstrosity outside the Ark gazing down upon them with that massive eye. 'Oh no, oh God, please, tell me it didn't break through…'

"Didn't they feel that?!" Charmy then spoke, finally finding his words. Given Tails' own shouting, it was obvious that there was no longer an issue about them having to conceal themselves. The beings outside had known for some time they were in here. "They just got right back up and started all over again!"

Espio remained silent, still keeping the two children close to him, yet his eyes watched the door, his ears filled with the worried cries of the fox and bee trying to drown out the continuous assaults on the only available barrier between them and the drove that surely held unsavory things for them in mind.

"It'll hold." He found himself saying, despite his faltering confidence in such a statement. "It'll hold." He repeated, as if that would do anything to somehow strengthen it.

"No, it won't!" Charmy cried out, his eyes growing moist, said moisture beginning to collect in his ducts. "It didn't hold for Vector, so it won't hold for us-"

"It'll hold!" Espio bellowed, the little bee cowering under his looming form. A pang of guilt assaulted the chameleon upon seeing the little insect, tears now flowing freely from his usually chipper, vibrant eyes. "It will." He told him, albeit more gently, the bee wrapping his arms tightly around the older detective's waist, shaking as the noises continued on and on, the door seemingly beginning to bend inward, particularly near the manual lock. 'It'll hold.' He thought to himself, a far grimmer prospect entering his mind that he dared not share with either Charmy or Tails. 'It's got to.'

 **Nearby**

He didn't even get the chance to process the fact that he had just gone through the looking glass until his head had made impact with the floor, bits and fragments of what had once been an intact window scattered all around him. Though the damage he had just caused was just going to be seen as a mere glimpse as Shadow found his waist being crushed by a powerful amount of pressure, the tentacle applying said pressure then winding itself around his arms, essentially binding them to his sides. Before he could utter anything resembling a protest, the appendage yanked itself back, pulling the hedgehog out of the ship and then hurling him upward, the spiky form flying higher and higher until he was seized by what felt like a hand, the digits of said hand going to work in encaging their catch so he'd not escape.

"Two for the price of one," Black Doom began, the eye on both heads alternating back and forth to observe the captured Supers. "Is ultimately unfitting. Yet two and whatever number of those below for the millions and their home…I think that is fine." The eye on the single horned head opened, the hand clutching Shadow bringing the trapped hedgehog closer until he was mere inches away. His intentions for Sonic were practically broadcasted down to his smaller spawn. "No, don't worry." The behemoth chuckled. "Such a fate would be too kind, especially for you. I have to think hard on that one." The eye then switched back to the other, gazing upon the other form captured in his clutches. "It's been so long, the exact flavor of you non-human earth-dwellers has escaped me." He began to lift his hand upward, holding Sonic at a somewhat downward angle. "But no matter. After all, no time like the present, yes?"

And with that, he brought his captured prey forward, right towards his gapping, ever present maw.

Despite the fact that it appeared he was moving very little, Sonic had been struggling to escape from the alien's grasp the very second he managed to be seized by his hand. Heck, one of the first tactics had begun to go through with was Chaos Control! And he would've very well succeeded too, if not for Doom immediately making the effort to squeeze and wrap his fingers around the smaller hedgehog's form as tight as possible. With each attempt in him trying to focus his energy on escaping, even as the energy of blue had begun building to the point where he could properly execute it, Sonic found his entire midsection being assaulted by pressure that, when he had experienced it the first time, he could've sworn his eyeballs were going to pop right out of their sockets. Suffice to say, it was more than a little difficult to keep one's concentration in such a situation. This pattern had gone and repeated itself in the small span of time between his and now, his and Shadow's capture, Sonic far from one to simply admit defeat, especially to guys like Doom, yet even with the vast amounts of power flowing through him at that moment, he couldn't deny that, unfortunately, 'Super' didn't exactly translate to 'invincible'.

And whilst he couldn't exactly be sure, the currently golden blur suspected that from the light 'pop' he heard on the last squeeze given to him, there had to be something broken somewhere, if not bruised at the very least. Though now, he saw that was the least of his problems.

As if it wasn't big enough already, Sonic's eyes widened in awe and horror as the 'mouth' of Black Doom's transformed shape began to widen, his grip tightening ever more around the hedgehog as his struggles had started to grow desperate, the hue of blue associated with Chaos Control barely able to form amidst the unbearable crushing force robbing Sonic of breath. Paleish, grey flesh with a hint of violet presented itself before him, its surface appearing far softer and much more tender compared to the skin coating the rest of the extraterrestrial's body. It also bore something of a moist look to it as well, though this was far from comforting. Sonic had known and seen that the maw had teeth. Lots of teeth. It was just now though that he realized just how many. Sharpened, yellowish spikes protruded from various places, rows upon rows of them arranged in something of rings, lining the surface and seemingly continuing on and on, down and down even in the vast blackness that concealed anything else from view.

And then the smell…oh God, the smell. The smell hit Sonic like a tidal wave, he able to keep whatever had wished to come up his throat down, though he wasn't sure of how long such a resolve would last. 'Wet, hot, and dead' were the first words that came to his mind, a sickening, pungent concoction of maggot-riddled flesh and waste that had been left out to fester for weeks in the hot sun, with just a dash of some unfitting, bizarrely sour tanginess assaulting his senses and bringing stinging tears to his eyes. Yet amidst the wretched odor, Sonic detected something else. It was deep, far deeper than the more powerful smell, yet still, it was present, igniting a horrid taste in the back of his throat. Almost coppery in taste. Acidic. And while he wasn't entirely sure, what his mind believed it to be only served to make his attempts to escape even more frenzied and desperate.

From his current position, Shadow couldn't exactly see what Doom's other head was doing, yet given how Sonic was more than anxious to get free of his grasp, he could only imagine that it was nothing that bode well for him. He needed something. Something to at least get the attention of the other head…yet he couldn't exactly do anything if he could barely move!

'Ultimate Lifeform…' he heard echo in his mind. 'Hm. Ultimate Lifeform indeed.'

If he could maybe just get his hands…or just one hand free. It didn't even have to be that! Just a few fingers perhaps! Yet the only available space was one he could barely maneuver around, and it was unlikely his captor would spread his fingers just a little bit more.

Still, he had to try. He had to!

* * *

He was being brought closer. The arm's movements not exactly slow, but just at a steady enough pace to allow his catch to fully take in what awaited him at the end of this journey. And the alien's breathtaking grip wouldn't compare to the sensation of the hundreds or so teeth piercing his flesh. Perhaps there was the possibility of him being able to warp in the few seconds between when he'd surely enter that fleshy chasm, though it'd have to be quick. Even for him.

He had to do something. Anything!

And then…it hit him.

* * *

He was almost there! Two fingers had begun to push their way from in between Black Doom's own, yet two wouldn't be enough. Well, maybe. Honestly, he had never tried with just two. But still, just in case, he wanted to get all five out. Then he could maybe, just maybe, go from there.

Assuming Doom didn't catch him first.

"You know, it was probably best that you didn't stick around for long when all that 'Project Shadow' stuff was going down!"

Project...Shadow? Project…he was a…yes. Yes, that would make sense. A project…'For the very thing mankind has wondered and pined for. Immortality. To become an Ultimate Lifeform.'

Yet…why would Sonic know that? Better yet, where was he even going with this? So many questions flooded his brain all at once, yet this was far from an appropriate time to even go over the first few that popped in his head!

"Even if I didn't know her at all, he was way better off with that Maria kid than he'd ever be with you!"

It hit him.

It hit him HARD.

True, Shadow wasn't entirely comfortable with her name being mentioned so lightly, yet what had come to him next held nothing to the discomfort mentioning her brought. But that was nothing compared to what he felt coming from his captor.

Hate. Unbridled, unfiltered, and from the massive weight it was placing on the hedgehog, just now released from any sort of confines it had previously keeping it in. Doom didn't even seem to be aware of the fact he was even projecting it at such a powerful level, his focus having been directed on the one that had spoken 'her' name.

Focus…his focus, albeit intense, was now completely on Sonic. Any sort of distraction would have to be something of equal magnitude. And while perhaps what Shadow was initially wishing to do would be that very thing, it'd at least confirm why the alien had gone through the trouble of throwing him throw a window instead of allowing his wing to be touched by his developing blast.

* * *

"How dare you…" the horned being snarled, his single optic lit afire with a rage that the energy-charged hedgehog had honestly been taken aback by.

What in the world? The seizing the Chaos Emeralds from him and using said Emeralds to blow up his comet, yes, Sonic could understand him being absolutely irate at that.. If anything, the years with Eggman had made him expect such a reaction, whether it be in a tussle with the doctor or some other loon obsessed with world domination. And true, he had intended for his comment to get his attention (and hopefully off of him being thrown down the alien's throat), yet this was far from what he was initially expecting.

"HOW DARE YOU!" the overlord bellowed, his ignited fury only increasing as the hedgehog was trying to process why he was seemingly so worked up over what should've been rather trivial compared to everything else.

* * *

And here he thought that perhaps Sonic's maneuver would make it a tad easier for him.

No such luck, the finger that encased Shadow still were tightly wound around his smaller form. Still though, Shadow had begun to thankfully make some progress. He had up and nearly worked his entire hand through the other side. Even if it was just to the tips of his gloved fingers, it was still progress.

And as many questions this near maddening fury Doom was exhibiting brought, he knew he couldn't allow himself to dwell on it. Not now anyway.

* * *

"How DARE you compare me to her!"

Sonic had more than good deal that he wished to say (mainly dealing with how, let alone why he was so outrageously angry about some kid), yet the hand holding him had seemingly grown to be even tighter in its grip. He was brought away from the being's mouth, yet it seemed to gain him only temporary reprieve.

"How dare you even THINK to mention ME in the same breath as HER, rat!" Black Doom bellowed, his entire form practically trembling with fury. "Me, who had brought forth generations upon generations of my kind and expanded our rule over hundreds, thousands of worlds! Whilst she had done nothing! She had earned nothing! Little more than a parasitic, diseased lump of flesh and blood that Gerald was disillusioned into keeping alive for just a little bit longer…"

* * *

'Diseased?'

He was just nearly there.

'A lump of flesh and blood?'

Finally, he had it out! And with enough room to flick his wrist if need be.

'He…he has the gall to address her as that?'

Good thing too, as the Ultimate Lifeform suspected that he'd need much more than a simple Chaos Spear to test out his theory.

'He has the gall to call her such things?! Her?!'

And Doom had just gone and supplied him with an extra helping of motivation to do it.

* * *

"Which reminds me…" the horned creature growled, tone growing quite calm compared to the slew of curses he had just released before. Sonic was held up right at the single eye, the golden scalera and the reddened iris it surrounded all that he could see. "I've held a similar opinion on you since our brief meeting in that human city." It wasn't the mouth, yet the hedgehog didn't exactly prefer for the enlarged optic to be so close to him, surveying and analyzing each and every aspect of him. As if he had gone from something to chew on to something the alien didn't even view as worthy of that. It'd be too 'merciful' in his eyes. "You may not look it, but in many aspects, you're a splitting ima- "

"CHAOS LANCE!"

The transition was quick and jarring, even for him. One moment, he was still caught in the larger overlord's grip, and the next, he found himself having to hold himself up, remembering that he no longer had a hand supporting him.

"YOU!"

Another blur of gold had just barely avoided being swiped at by Black Doom's claws, he coming to join the newly freed hedgehog as the two watched the larger alien having to momentarily abandon his goal in dealing with them, the freshly bleeding wound present on his left wing needing to be tended to.

'Green blood…'

"Your chest hurting too?" Shadow heard Sonic question, a pained laugh exiting from him. "I'm NOT looking forward to feeling that tomorrow."

'Assuming there will be a tomorrow.'

Shadow had kept any sort of talk to himself, eyes situated on the damaged skin on the alien's wing. His features remained as they were, but he was nonetheless relieved to see that unlike the tentacles, the wing seemed to not be repairing itself after just a few moments. Also, thankfully, it seemed that Sonic too took notice of this rather useful discovery.

"Looks like we've got ourselves the break we needed." The lighter colored hedgehog simply nodded, eyes still fixated on the streams of liquid pooling out from the area he had struck. "So," Sonic began again. "You want to take the left, or the right?"

"…does it matter?" he finally answered, though he had already 'picked' one to begin wailing on. "Ideally, breaking them or tearing them off would do us a world of good, but just as long as he can't use them to protect himself!" with that, the Ultimate Lifeform warped away, undoubtably back to where Doom was still tending to his most recent wound.

"Fine. Guess I get the right." Sonic responded to no one, finishing his comment before following suit. "But I'll get it first!"

 **Power Plant**

Lean over, shimmy, dodge. Lean over, shimmy, dodge. And occasionally try to get in a bite or two.

This had basically been the improvised routine of sorts Vector came up with in dealing with the bipedal alien above him. His fingers gripping tightly to the edge of the walkway, the large crocodile had to make sure each and every one of his movements had been carefully thought out. What would've sounded like a simple task on paper proved to be anything but, and that wasn't including the long Arms spawn still at trying to loosen his hold.

It wasn't as if his weight was an enormous problem. No matter what Espio had told him, he was at a PEREFECT and PROPER BMI for his species! Heck, he bet that guy hadn't even SEEN a croc before him! So what if he liked just an extra rib or two? Hadn't he heard protein was essential part of every diet?!

'Get more of that than that disgusting bean and rice combo he has.'

Still, at the moment, Vector found Espio's lecturing and reminders of his food intake flooding his mind as gravity seemed to be growing more and more persistent in pulling him downward. Simply put, even if the chameleon was full of it, he was still a big guy. And 'big' plus anything involving a long drop usually resulted in something pretty bad happening. Not to mention rather messy, even if no one would be around to see it.

The lifting of his tail had somewhat relieved him of the stress his arms were going through (perhaps Espio's quips on him at least working out was something to consider) and maintain balance, yet the appendage could only do so much. The lone spawn above clearly had the advantage in this situation.

"Grrrrah!"

Something of which it made clear whenever the opportunity presented itself.

A claw had slashed at one of the hands gripping the edge, the fabric covering the fingers tearing open to reveal green, scaled digits underneath. Vector was fortunate enough that the skin that covered his hands bore the same thickness as almost everywhere else on him (save for his stomach), yet thick skin or not, there were still nerves packed throughout. Nerves that were already under a good amount of strain as it was. The last of the Black Arms that had invaded in the Power Plant had continued its tactic of clawing and scratching at the clinging hands, though when the crocodile had decided to make use of his teeth, it was forced to momentarily pull back. He was in no position to do so, yet should he wish to, once he got back on solid ground, Vector could give his current tormenter more than a little compensation.

Assuming he could even make it that far.

 **Control Panel**

It did nothing.

BANG!

He had suspected it wouldn't have, yet still, then, it was only one.

BANG!

Not however many were here now.

BANG!

"We've got to go!" Charmy suddenly cried out, not even caring to try and keep his voice down. What point was there? They already knew they were here. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Where?" Tails responded, not exactly in the best of states either, yet still, the little bee wasn't doing anything to help matters. "There's nowhere to go to! The door's the only way in or out of here!"

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" the insect barked back, tears pricking at his wide, terrified eyes.

He was half tempted to yell back at the two children, if not just to stop at least two sources of ongoing, ever present noise, yet Espio found himself unable to garner up anything. Besides, whether he liked it or not, both of them stated the truth.

The black creatures outside were doing everything in their power to either bust open the door or damage the lock enough to allow entry inside. And aside from said door, there was no other visible exit they could use. At the same time, they'd all be fools to try and make a break for it through the crowd of however many of them were out there. If anything, they'd simply hand themselves over if they were to attempt something like that!

They had to get out. They had to escape, yet where to?

It was then that Espio's eyes turned back to the two panicked children, both going back and forth on the issue, albeit it was far more chaotic and frenzied then a simple exchange as that.

"What do you think we SHOULD do then?" Tails questioned Charmy, of whom was now letting tears flow freely down his cheeks. "Burst open the ceiling and…" the fox gestured towards the surface above them, pausing for a moment as the bee's insistence on finding an escape route proved to be more helpful than he initially thought. "…climb our way out…"

Charmy's state hadn't really undergone any drastic changes with Tails' suggestion, yet looking up at the ceiling himself got him thinking as well. And then to the purple chameleon next to him. Espio had one of his weapons at the ready should the door's protection fail, yet from how things were looking now, it seemed that the sharpened instrument had found itself a different purpose.

BANG!

One that'd have to be implemented as soon as possible.

 **Outside the Ark**

From his mouth, lasers flew, beams of light that rained down on his two smaller aggressors that were giving it their all in attempting to avoid his onslaught. A select few of them had managed to make contact, yet Black Doom found that even the briefest satisfaction from such a thing did him no good.

Perhaps it would've been inevitable that they would've discovered it, as well as how, like it or not, he couldn't conceal it forever. Still, the discovery of his wings' vulnerability compared to other portions of himself brought him a small degree of concern. Concern that gnawed and was fighting to grow in the pit of his enlarged stomach, yet the horned devil refused to allow such a thing to occur (even if said thing seemed to be gaining more and more traction as time went on).

Not to say that his flapping appendages were no more than simple twigs one could break over their knee, yet they weren't completely invulnerable. Nowhere near as fragile as his eye, but still. And unlike the collection of tentacles that composed of his lower half, two wings were all that he had.

But what use was it for him to ponder any of this? What use was it for him to actually believe for a moment that Black Death perhaps had been wise in wishing for him to not continue this?

'You do not understand, Death.' Doom thought to himself, awaiting the arrival of the two energy charged hedgehogs. 'This deals with far more than what you could ever hope to understand. This is an offense to me. An offense that 'she' perpetrated and made sure to create!' any moment now they would materialize before him. The lasers had all gone, traveling to reaches unknown before they'd surely burn out. 'And it is an offense that MUST be dealt with. One way, or another.'

* * *

A flash of blue was soon coupled with a flash of gold, the sole of the hedgehog's trademark, red shoe planting itself onto the joint of one of the massive wings (the right, of course), the downward strike forcing the large appendage to bend downward lest it damage itself in resisting. This sudden bout of pain on his right side immediately garnered Black Doom's attention, his other head turning to see Sonic striking where the wing met his back.

Unfortunately, as he soon found out, this had been little more than yet another distraction.

He had sensed his presence, yes, yet the strike to his wing made the alien reflexively direct his focus to whomever was causing it, allowing a small, yet sizable opportunity to go in and do damage to the other. Though the type of pain that met Doom was not that of pressured limbs, but punctured, torn flesh.

Quickly turning his head to the left, Shadow was in the midst of working a newly formed Chaos Lance through the skin of where the wing and his back met, the Ultimate Lifeform having a tad bit of difficulty working the concentrated form of Chaos Energy through the toughened flesh. Still, tough as it was, he had seen that it was possible. And if not, he'd simply make it such, the determination to pierce the base of the wing etched into his features.

"WATCH IT, SHADS!" Sonic's called out, Shadow momentarily taken from his task and coming to sense that he was about to be swatted away by an incoming hand.

A flash of blue and a moment later, the streaked hedgehog was further away, Doom's hand swiping away at nothing, though the miss was far from an invitation to go on back.

Sonic narrowly avoided a swiping hand as well, though this sent him flying right into the leathery surface of the other wing, , the being it belonged to immediately making a reach for him before he warped out of sight, materializing next to Shadow.

"This is going a little slower than I would've hoped for." The younger of the two confessed. "Guy's got pretty broad shoulders."

'And rather thick skin.' Shadow thought, glancing down at his gloved hand, debating whether or not to begin forming another Lance or some other projectile of Chaos Energy.

"Hey," Sonic began, tone bearing a slight, yet still noticeable twinge of worry. "How much longer do you think you've got?"

Shadow raised his brow at that. "For…as long as I need." He answered. What sort of question was that, let alone what sort of reason was there for even asking? "Why? Getting a little winded?"

Sonic in turn scoffed. "As if!" he retorted, back to delivering his usually witty, chipper banter. "I'm surprised you're not!" Shadow heard him whisper something else under his breath, something along the lines of 'you've got fifty-some years on me, so I have the natural advantage, old geezer' or whatnot. He'd have to make sure to check up on it later, if not to rightfully gain compensation for being called such. "I'm just saying," the other hedgehog began again. "Not that it's anything I have to worry about, but I'd imagine Big Boss here's going to get a little bored too if we just keep going for the same place and might want to 'relocate'."

Darn it, he had a point. Initially, their plan was to disable his wings via attacking them at their base, yet seeing as they were more durable than initially suspected, it seemed that course of action would potentially allow the devil to concoct a plan of action of his own. Particularly one that involved teleporting the Ark even further away from the Earth.

"Speak of the devil…" Sonic spoke, voice once again unbefitting his usual nature. Though when Shadow saw it too, he shared in the same sense of dread and urgency, both wasting no time in warping their way right back to where they had been.

They could only pray that Chaos Control would be able to get them there in time.

* * *

He was nowhere as close as he wished to be.

True, while his disappearing and subsequent reappearing would've probably resulted in the ship ensnared in his tentacles moving further and further away from the Earth, Black Doom had hoped that those two wouldn't recognize the pattern so soon.

He couldn't even see the fourth planet from the sun yet, but the Earth was growing more and more distant. That was the only bit of assurance he could rely on for now.

It wasn't as if he were actually heeding Black Death's advice, by the ancients, no. It simply served him in making sure those two fools wasted however amount of energy they had been blessed with by the Emeralds. And with the only viable haven being the very thing he had hold of…well, though he had no intention of allowing them such a quick end, he would make sure that both of them would wish they had such a luxury.

Especially his renegade spawn.

Now that…that would be something special.

And even more, the child would have a front row seat to the plan he had already concocted in his mind regarding that revolving rock! 'Oh yes…' Doom mused, his mandibles spreading into a crude, misshapen representation of a 'smile'. 'Oh yes indeed! And it will all be thanks to YOU!'

First though, he would have to create more distance between himself and that planet. Yet when he had begun to channel his own energy to incite another quick teleportation, he had suddenly been struck by a pair of small, yet easily identified objects that made contact with his wings.

Again, and again, and again, and again.

* * *

Though it had proved that striking the base of the wings didn't do much, it at least broke through the alien's concentration.

Then they dove into the portion above the base, what would've been the humerus of the wing (assuming that Doom's appendages were constructed with more familiar anatomy), the red hue that had once been working up the owner of said wings seeming to stop the moment both hedgehogs struck that particular area.

They didn't dare stop in their assault, however, immediately going onto the next part they could get to. As soon as they had homed in on the (assumed) humerus', they directed their collective attention onto the radius. And after that, the metacarpals, followed by the phalanges on the ends. Then they began again.

From the neutral observer, it would've appeared that the two-headed devil had rings of golden light revolving around his wings, the reddened light he once bore steadily, albeit slowly, decreasing more and more the longer these 'rings' continued to revolve in frenzied, wild patterns around him.

Sonic and Shadow didn't dare stop, determined to carry on their onslaught until the tiniest speck of that red glow was dissipated. Each and every spot they had previously paid a visit to was attacked in one way or another: homing attacks, Chaos Spears, Lances, kicks, punches, anything and everything the two could think of, all with the intention of hopefully finding something of a weak point that could be exploited.

Doom's concentration was greatly decreasing, just barely able to keep the glow of red around his lower body, the continuous assaults and beatings his extra appendages were receiving steadily wearing them down. Even more, the cursed creatures were moving too fast for him to catch up! His hands couldn't hope to be quick enough to even lay a hand on this like this!

Yet he had to focus! He had to at least get just a little further! Just a little more before they'd surely wear themselves out! They couldn't keep going on forever! Their power would leave them eventually-

CRACK!

 **Control Panel**

BANG!

Finally.

BANG!

At long last.

BOOM!

Their one obstacle had been rendered useless, the barricade keeping them from entering being flung across the small enclosure and smashing into the large computer monitor, nearly knocking it off of its platform.

The space was small, the incoming group of Arms came to see, it not having enough room for even half of them to fit in here. Curious that Breeder would be so adamant in making sure they come here specifically. Yet Breeder's command was clear, and thus, it fell upon them to obey it.

Upon entering, however, the few creatures that were able to enter found that they were the only occupants in the room. There was not one sign or evidence of any other living thing having ever been here at one point.

At least that was the conclusion drawn before one amongst them took notice of a strange, empty space that clashed with the rest of the intact ceiling.

 **Above**

"They're in!"

"SHHH!"

"But-mph!" the last bits of Charmy's remark was drowned out by Tails' covering his mouth, the fox in turn surveying around the tight, compact space they now found themselves in.

True, none of them were expecting much when they had been forced to take this route, yet neither had quite anticipated of just how much of a literal 'tight squeeze' the small space would provide. Crawling on hands and knees was nearly impossible as it was, they outright having to wriggle their way into the small section above the control panel. There was even little room to allow one to be on either side of the other. It was possible, yet such a tactic left the individual quite cramped and with the other person they were beside no room at all. Which was why Tails, despite his desperation to shut Charmy up, didn't stay up beside him for too long, worming his way back to behind the bee (and subsequently his rather potent and sharpened stinger). 'Got to make sure to avoid that.' he thought.

At the helm of the small line, Espio tried to find some sort of route they could travel in this tightly packed darkness, a bevy of wires and circuits seemingly greeting him in every direction. He wasn't exactly surprised, given the fact this place was a space station of all things, yet the way these cables and cords spiderwebbed and weaved throughout the area, there was little 'empty space' to be seen. Not to mention that, as he began to crawl a few inches more, they didn't exactly help in anything relating to stillness or calm.

And from his own experience with one, children were no masters of those things either.

"C'mon." the chameleon commanded. "We have to tread lightly." The two behind him began to follow. "And," Espio began again. "If you can, TRY not to make any noise."

 **Below**

It's head swished around, the rest of its siblings following suit as a small, yet still audible set of thumps were heard from above. The empty space that had been created in the ceiling and the disregarded tile had been only been small clues. If not for the lingering scents still prevalent in the small space, the Arms would've assumed that they had simply arrived too late. Yet now, they could see that their prey hadn't left at all, they only just begun.

 **Above**

"It's a little dusty up here…"

"Shh!"

A little was quite the understatement, Tails thought. For as old as this place was, the interior of the place was relatively clean. Aged and worn down in some places, but still in decent enough condition. But here, he doubted if anything from a little dusting to someone running their finger down the surface had ever been done. Everything seemed to be coated in a thick, greyish layer of dirt and grime, his fur and namesake appendages unintentionally catching some of the muck in their fibers.

"Seriously Espio," Charmy sniffled, barely having enough room to rub his nose. "I think I'm gonna- "

"Don't." the ninja hissed. "Don't you dare!"

"I can't help it! I feel it coming!"

"Just a little further, and we'll be out of the room!" Espio answered. 'I think.'

"Sorry, I…ah…I can't- "

"Charmy, don't- "

"Ah- "

BOOM!

The sound of the little bee's sneeze was completely dwarfed by the resounding impact from below, the force responsible bringing down several of the tiles above that served as the three's temporary flooring. The small amount of natural light came through from the openings created, fists covered in pebbled, red flesh coming through not long after, clawing at the air.

"Go, go, go!" Espio ordered, Charmy and Tails not protesting in the slightest, increasing the speed at which they wriggled through the small space.

Of course, due to the confines of the area, they couldn't have hoped to get far.

"AHHH!"

The chameleon turned, yet saw that it was not Charmy that had screamed, but the young fox behind him, an open space before and behind him trapping the kit from moving either forwards or backwards. Instinctively, he tried pressing on forward, grasping onto Charmy's ankle to pull himself across, he just as he had gotten over the gap…

 **Outside**

He felt it. The right wing, right by where the humerus and radius met. A splintering, shattering crack of bones being forced to submit to the continuously applied pressure being delivered to them. Sonic didn't need to hear it to see he had done such damage: the once rounded, arching appendage was forced to bend and contort itself in such a way that it was surely never meant to, the hedgehog pulling back for a moment to fully observe what he had done.

The being, as if by sheer reflux, attempted to move the wing, yet he didn't even get to half a flap before his massive form stiffened and trembled, low growls and hisses exiting from his gaping maw as he tried to then steady the wing, the limb unsure as to whether or not it should stay in its current position or try and lower itself down to the side.

To the left, Shadow had momentarily ceased his own assault to view this as well, directing his eyes towards the very same spot on the left wing. While it didn't bear the same form as its twin, it had grown rather still, as if it were trying to keep itself from moving too much. A clear sign he was about to render it in the same state as the other. Of course, unlike the other hedgehog alongside him, he planned on breaking it in more than just one place.

 **Control Panel**

"AHHH! HELP!"

A clawed hand reached upward and snagged one of the fox's namesake tails, yanking him downward, Charmy being pulled along with him. Espio quickly shot his own leg out for the bee to seize, he then taking out one of his weapons and driving it down into the surface below, not getting far, yet it managed to bring their journey backwards to a halt.

Tails' features contorted and stretched in agony as the alien's course skin and tight grip sent waves of pain up the seized limbs and up his back, wincing as he felt tuffs of his golden fur being pulled. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn that it felt as if handfuls of it were being pulled out to better dislodge his grip on Charmy's ankle.

Espio's efforts to stop the children and himself from being pulled out were, unfortunately, not enough, he realizing this as, despite the edge of the blade being lodged into the 'flooring', they still continued to move back, the blade in turn being drug through the surface with them. A tangled collection of wires was nearby, wound together and thick. Not wasting any time, the chameleon reached for it, yet found that he was just an inch or two away from being able to snag it.

Another yank brought him further away, the panicked cries of the two children under his care making his attempts to grab at a potentially better anchor all the more desperate. He was so close. So close that his fingertips were just about to brush against the rubber covering of the wires. So close, and yet so far…

 **Outside**

He was still going! His wing was already broken, and that insufferable blue rat was still going!

Sonic continued to fly around Doom's battered right wing, homing in on the one spot he managed to do some real damage and had nearly gotten several other areas to be in the same state, the bones and muscles straining themselves in resisting the continuous barrage of hits.

Doom's 'child' was following in the same pattern as well, only he seemed to be adding his own little flair to his efforts to cripple the wing he took on. The main difference was that instead of just one, two particular places had been broken: the radius felt as if it had been twisted in half whilst the humerus was snapped just a little bit away from the base. And on top of that, the flesh had been torn and cut in various areas as well, Chaos Spears and Lances taking their toll on the roughened, but not invulnerable hide.

They wouldn't stop, Doom knew that much. The two would continue on until either his wings were crippled beyond the point where they could possibly never be used again, or the hedgehogs had somehow managed to up and rip them off his body! Absurd as it was, they had managed to do this to him, so such a thing was steadily becoming more plausible.

'How? How can this be?!'

He needed to get them off! He had to send them away, at least if not for just a few moments!

Throwing his doubled-horned head forward, Black Doom released a flurry of lasers from his maw, each homing in on the two pests, yet it was only when the lasers went for them did Doom realize his error. The lasers had momentarily forced both of his aggressors to cease their attacks and focus on dodging the incoming projectiles, yet said projectiles had taken their place in causing damage to his already vulnerable wings! The lasers tore into and through the flesh and bone to get at the two hedgehogs flying around him, he swinging his arms around wildly to try and get them away, only to cumbersomely strike at his damaged limbs, unintentionally creating even more agony for himself! Green fluid coated the vast amount of injures covering the once spotless, shapely wings, and some areas on the alien's chest, torso, and back were left in quite the similar state.

'No, no, this cannot be! This cannot be happening!'

 **Control Panel**

He shuddered at the sensation that came to his left thigh. Wet and warm, not to mention sticky. Tails didn't dare look down, though he soon might not have a choice in the matter soon, for instead of one hand pulling him down, more had joined in. Charmy's feet soon to follow with the fox's upper half.

Espio's hand grappled for the wires, all the while keeping the other on his weapon. With each passing second, it seemed that they all were being dragged back further and further. Just one of them wasn't enough to satiate them. ALL of them were to be pulled out like mice out of a hiding hole.

Yet…should it be like this…should it be that this day, they perish…it would not start until he was the first to be taken out!

 **Outside**

His eyes.

All he had left were his eyes.

His vulnerable, unprotected eyes.

The crippling of his wings had left him with little other means to defend the optics, his hands coming to cusp themselves over his shut eyelids as the two hedgehogs came in full force to finish what they had set out to do.

Yet as they approached, Sonic and Shadow found themselves stopping themselves, their eyes drawn to the slew of tentacles holding the Ark. "Look!" Sonic whispered, gesturing to the multiple, wriggling appendages that composed of Doom's lower half. It was barely noticeable at first, yet as those in eyeshot followed suit with the others, the two could see that the tentacles were growing more…lax?

Yes, neither of them quite believed it, but there it was, right in front of them. The tentacles were releasing their hold on the Ark. They were actually letting it go. They simply draped themselves over the ship's exterior, slowly easing themselves off as the one they were attached to had begun to steadily move away.

'What's he doing now?' Sonic questioned, Shadow locking eyes with Doom's eye, the larger creature in turn seeming to almost flinch under his gaze. As if he were fearful. Fearful of the two of them. Of him.

At first, that was what he believed to be Doom's reason for turning away from them. A foolish reason that left him vulnerable, yet still, it was a reason. It was only when the all too familiar hue of red begun to consume his wounded, broken body, did both Shadow and Sonic realize what he was doing.

And before either could get out a word of protest or demand to stay where he was, the horned devil was gone.

 **Deimos**

Something was wrong. His Breeder hadn't contacted him for minutes, nearly a whole hour. And the fact he had been engaged in combat of all things since last they spoke certainly didn't help things either.

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to keep in touch. In fact, all Black Death had been doing since their latest exchange was try and get something from his superior. Anything from a simple confirmation on his condition to even a demand to be silent and not speak to him again. Anything that would at least alert him that he was all right!

He, no, they ALL needed him to be all right.

'What was he thinking?! Going off and facing the ones who destroyed the comet?!' he couldn't stop the thoughts coming to him, his three fingers beginning to curl, hand clenching into a trembling fist. 'That…that reckless fool! Doesn't he even realize what's at stake?! If he dies, then- '

'Then what?'

Death's blood ran cold, his own musing shattered by the interference of another, familiar presence. 'M-My Breeder! You are-'Alive was what he was about to saw, yet he paused. His signal, whilst present, he couldn't ignore the fact that it felt weaker than before. And yet from what he was sensing, Doom was drawing closer and closer towards him and the small moon. 'Breeder, what's happened?'

'I…I was ill prepared.' Doom confessed, albeit with a good degree of reluctance. 'I didn't…anticipate that they'd be this strong!'

Death was about to inquire what he meant, yet he soon found himself unable to speak. Doom had taken the liberty in briefly sharing with him the agony his body had been put through via their link, the hooded Arms member unable to catch his breath for a few moments from the shock his entire body had been assaulted with for just a second or two. 'You…you're dying.' He croaked out. 'You're dying! Quickly! You must come back! Come to the ship, then we must- '

'What do you think I'm trying to do?!' Black Doom barked back. 'We must recoup our losses first. I have a plan…'

He ceased communicating with Death, the subordinate Arms member's worry skyrocketing. 'Breeder? Breeder?!'

'Curse it! They're here!'

* * *

Soon. Very soon now.

They didn't have much time left.

The burning, golden light that radiated off of each of them was still strong, yet both felt the beginnings of the same force that gave them their super charged forms 'flowing' from them. In any other instance, this would've been the very thing that would deter them from even traveling this far, let alone in a place such as this. Yet they couldn't leave it up to chance. The Black Comet's destruction didn't end this, so what other option was there than to take this matter out at the source?

Sonic and Shadow couldn't even believe they were traveling such a distance, let alone where the latter had sensed Doom going. After all, Mars? What business did he have on Mars? Whatever the case may be, whether it be some extra troops or an entirely other entity working under him, it mattered not. What concerned both hedgehogs was getting to Doom before he could make it to the red planet.

And getting said task done as quickly as possible.

Chaos Control had made the journey faster, yes, yet upon their arrival, the two of them found themselves caught off guard by another wall of fire coming towards them. Doom was getting somewhat sloppy, whether from the physical strain they put him through or the stress, it would perhaps make their task easier.

Wasting no time (as there was really little of it to waste now), Sonic and Shadow warped past the flares and right up towards Doom's heads, their targets just straight ahead.

 **Deimos**

'Plan'. That single word echoed in Death's mind. Plan, what plan? What in the world was his Breeder thinking?! The frenzied, echoing cries of the small bit of brood he had with him made it difficult for Death to concentrate, yet in time, he found that he could indeed sense it.

Black Doom…in his efforts to keep his two opponents from striking, was focusing his energy on something else. Not too distant, in fact, it was right aboard the ship.

'Wait. No, no, he can't be mad enough to…' Death shook his head. It couldn't be. Impossible! And even if he was successful, it couldn't be a perfect transferring! 'They…they are meant to be extensions of the Breeders' will, not the other way around!'

He had to go see this for himself. He didn't believe it. He COULDN'T believe it! None of their race, not one, had ever even THOUGHT of attempting something as risky as this! And yet Doom was actually going to try.

As one, last effort in self-preservation.

 **Outside of Mars**

The blue rat had struck first, the sting of the sole of his shoe exerting his force against the fragile cornea surging throughout his entire body, forcing him to switch to the other head. Right where his spawn was waiting for him.

Doom dare not open his eye, either of them. Even against the efforts of both hedgehogs, he kept them shut.

'Just a little more….' He thought. 'Just a little more…and then I will be able to leave. This body will be nothing more than a husk…and then I shall make good on my…'promise'…'

Suddenly, he felt something underneath his eyelid. Finger. Tiny, gloved fingers trying, with all their remaining might, to lift up the flap of skin concealing the coveted tissue that lay beneath. And he hadn't intended to allow such a thing. He truly hadn't, yet a blow to one of his broken wings had caught him by surprise, his focus on keeping his eye shut was shattered, allowing his spawn to force it open and reveal a blank, clear surface, the flaring, green energy of the Chaos Lance formed reflecting upon it.

Then, Shadow thrust it forward.

The reaction was immediate.

A roar, deafening and riddled with nothing short of immeasurable agony spread throughout the entire vicinity, to the hidden few listening, it had been heard in more ways than one. The energy surging through the Lance had allowed it to travel far, its path unable to be stopped by whatever lay in its way. Any sort of nerves or viscera that lay behind the layer of that blank space stood no chance, it traveling on further and further, slicing through fragile tissue until, finally, it had managed to make contact with something else.

This brought on an even more ear-shattering bellow than the one before. Shadow moved out of the way as the large hand came to cup over the gravely injured, and quite useless 'eye', waterfalls of bright, green fluid flowing down the being's fingers to the very tips of his tentacles. From where the Ultimate Lifeform was, it appeared as if this entire side of Black Doom had been splashed in a fresh coat of green liquid, and judging from the look of it, it wasn't stopping anytime soon.

He didn't welcome it at first, yet Shadow found he couldn't stop it. A strange, uncomfortable tightness gripped his chest, it soon growing into something of a painful cramp. What it was, exactly, he couldn't accurately tell. All he knew was that, somehow, in some way, it had to do with Doom's current condition. As if something was being torn or broken off. As if this he could sense that this creature was amid his last moments of life.

'Finally.'

'…yes.' Shadow winced, the voice weak and frail, yet still, somehow, among the living. 'It is the end…for both of us.'

Shadow had begun to try and warp away, yet given the waning effects of the Emeralds' power, he found that his mind wasn't as protected as it had been before. Doom's remaining consciousness intruded in onto the smaller hedgehog's, his body, even if just for a moment and not to as great a scale, set afire with each and every amount of pain he had inflicted on the one before him: bones felt as if they were broken, skin stung from being torn open, and from the way his eyes bulged and widened in their sockets, he could've sworn that some sharp object had gone and sliced its way right into them!

He couldn't even release a proper cry of agony before he found himself seized by the behemoth's hand, this moment of distraction rendering him vulnerable. Even without the opened eye, Shadow could feel Doom leering down at him.

'I told you.' He croaked, voice weak and with not much more to give. Yet still, he had some life left in him, and he was going to spend it as he saw fit. 'I told you at the temple…you will be mine. However this ends…you will be mine. Your life, even now, is MINE to take, should I see fit!'

"SHADOW!" Sonic cried out, diving forward only to stop halfway, realizing that, to his horror, his fur had begun to gain back a small twinge of blue.

'And speaking of what was said back then…' Doom the felt as if he was being pulled, this alerting the trapped Ultimate Lifeform that, to his shock, they had been dangerously close to the planet below. Even more, his own fur beginning to darken, losing its golden-silvery hue. 'You said that you wished to know of what happened before? Why you were left in a state where nothing, but your name was known to you?' Shadow struggled, he wriggled and writhed, kicking and twisting in his captor's grip, all the while realizing that his lungs were beginning to become deprived of a reasonable amount of air. 'I shall show you now. We shall both experience it…together.' Black Doom told him, his voice something of a mocking coo, as if he were a young child needing to be comforted. 'Sayonara…Shadow the Hedgehog…'

Then they fell.

Slowly, at first. Steady, and not at all at a fast pace, yet Shadow knew, he knew that would change soon. He looked at the red planet below, his attempts to dislodge himself from the still form of Black Doom growing more and more desperate.

'Sayonara…' that…that had been said to him before. Not by him, and…and not like this. And…he had been through something like this before. He…he had fallen. He had fallen, he had been pulled down, he was low on energy, the powers bestowed upon him were waning, he had done this before, but not like this!

He had wanted it last time. Last time, there was nothing else for him to do. He knew not why, but there was no mistaking it. He had wanted to fall. He had wanted to be destroyed.

Yet now…it was nothing like that now! It was different than before! It wasn't by his hand, but by another! It was different! Why though?! Why did he desire it then and not now?! Why was he struggling to get free?!

'My promise to you…'

And the red planet…the red planet had turned blue. Blue…with swirling clouds, and bits of green scattered all over its surface. Was…was he back here? Back then? It…it looked like it! It looked EXACTLY like it! But something was different! He was different!

There…there was the sensation of another hand, grasping at him.

Yes. He remembered.

He…pushed it away, he believed. Yet, unlike before…it stayed. The hand that grabbed him stayed. The fingers that held him began to loosen, but not before Shadow felt it again.

The heat.

The beginnings of entering the atmosphere of the planet. The blue planet. The rush of heat that came to him, his skin and fur unable to withstand its superior force. His entire body engulfed with the sensation of being set ablaze the more gravity pulled him downward.

And yet…in that…he thought he had recalled something else.

A voice of sorts. Yes. A voice…telling him something. Something important.

'Hurry…'

Something like…

'Hurry, now! Before it's too late!'

Or maybe not. He wasn't sure. Whatever the case, it certainly didn't say…

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

 **Note: Done. The battle with Black Doom (Devil Doom) is done. And in time before Florence decides to give us a little bit of her lovely little showers! A quick note here: while I don't want to give anything away as of yet, the little flashback Shadow was having at the end WILL come into play later. Much later. And while there isn't really an official explanation to it, from what I'm planning on putting in later, you might be able to deduce what may be revealed. Once again, thank you all for your continued support, please leave a review as it really helps motivate me to pump these out, and let me know of any errors you caught that I missed!**

 **Thank you all, and be safe!**


	11. Catalyst of Convergence Part 11

**Note: I lied. It's going to be twelve. Either that, or this chapter's going to be around 20,000+ words long. So sorry for that, yet I am inching ever closer to the prologue's conclusion, so there's that. And there's you fine people that've been with me for this long, so thank you ever so dearly for that. Finally, job training is over (reason why writing's been so slow these last few months), so I have more time now. Yet of course, now I may have gotten myself bronchitis!**

 **That said, I wrote all of this in one go, but I'm splitting it up due to length. There's a lot more than I wanted to add in, yet ultimately, it was growing too long. Plus, I feel that the details mentioned here will better serve being developed and touched upon later. With that said, here's hoping you all enjoy!**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence Part 11**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

Floating.

He was floating.

Floating in the endless abyss, far away from the Earth…

At least he believed this to be true until he felt the sensation of cool air traveling down his throat.

Had he…passed out?

True, his senses were basically muddled and dulled to where his general awareness was comparable to that of the haze he got upon waking, yet with time, the speedster found that, despite the rough start, he was waking up, and even better, among the living.

Sonic's green eyes adjusted themselves, focusing on a strange, blurry object with five points on it, said object eventually showing itself to be his own hand, fingers curling and uncurling, testing whether or not the digits still functioned properly. He caught a shot of his leg out in front of him, it back to its natural, blue color. He had attempted to stand, yet a sharp pain in his chest forced him to plant himself back on the floor, his hand coming up to try and massage away the pain. It did little good, Sonic unfortunately realizing that perhaps his theory Black Doom had broken something was now a reality. Still, he was here aboard the Ark. Alive.

Yet…where aboard the Ark?

From the way he was siting up against some sort of wall and what was in front of him, he assumed that wherever they were, they probably weren't anywhere near the Eclipse Cannon's chamber.

They…oh gosh! Was he…oh. Good. He was here. And breathing, even better.

Shadow was seemingly stationed in one of the corners of this small space, huddled up near the northeast. He seemed to be facing away from him, it somewhat difficult to see, yet given how small he appeared, Sonic assumed that Shadow had his knees tucked up and against his chest, resembling a fetal position. It was something that, had it been a few hours prior, the blue hedgehog would've found the sight humorous.

The space that he and the still unconscious Shadow occupied was dark, yet given how the door was shaped, Sonic felt that this wasn't exactly a standard room on the ship. In fact, he began to doubt that this was even a room at all. And once his eyes fell upon a panel displaying a vast number of buttons on the right, it steadily became more and more clear that they had been transported to where they needed to make themselves known if they wished to be found.

"I don't see it anywhere!"

Wait. Voices. And footsteps. They were approaching fast.

"Then where are they?"

"I don't know!" he knew that voice from anywhere. "Chaos Control sometimes isn't exactly predicable. Though they would've definitely come back aboard!"

He looked to the other hedgehog, who was still out like a light. And the pain in his chest would probably make rising somewhat difficult in getting a quick notice. He needed to get attention somehow, yet in what way? It was then that Sonic remembered his stretched out leg, as well as how it was the closest thing to the door.

 **Outside**

"The only problem is where." Espio added to the fox's answer. "I think it's been made clear of just how large this ship is, and we've yet to properly all of it."

"Well, I've seen more than enough to know I'm NEVER coming back here again." Vector huffed. 'Though given what's been done, there probably isn't real reason to come back at all…let alone anything to take back.'

"Are we going to get paid?"

The crocodile whirled around to the bee fluttering behind him, exasperated at what he had just heard. "What the heck kind of question is that?! I was THIS close," he brought his pointer and thumb close together. "To falling in a pit with a bottom that'd probably take me the rest of my life to reach, and here you're wondering whether or not we're going to get paid?!"

The croc began to turn back around, not even taking notice of the insect's widened eyes. "I…I didn't mean it like that." Charmy weakly choked out. "You were just saying….before we started…how the money coming in would be able to get us a bigger, better headquarters…"

Tails couldn't exactly see it, making sure to keep himself out of any personal business between the three, yet given how Espio turned to face his fellow detectives, he suspected that it was serious enough to need his attendance.

"Getting paid. What a joke."

"Vector."

"If anything, those guys had better give us compensation for nearly breaking our necks back there- "

"Vector!"

"What?!"

Espio didn't answered, seeing as gesturing to the little bee did more than enough, Vector's irritated features immediately softening, as well as presenting the sense of guilt creeping into his conscience. Charmy had stopped beating his wings, allowing his feet to touch the ground, his head hanging downward to conceal his eyes. It was then that Vector understood the reason for Charmy's question. While it was in no way unusual for the insect to spout something in an attempt to either humor himself or get under his guardians' skin, in moments of high tension, however, he was known to do this to present some sort of distraction.

One of the most common go to options of these distractions was to discuss their incoming paychecks, which served as both a distraction and a boost in motivation.

Vector was near tempted to slap himself upon realizing this, yet Espio's gaze directed his attention to the child he had just upset. At first, he found it odd that the chameleon didn't step in to try and reason with the bee, yet from what he had been told, the two of them and Tails had their own ordeal to go through. 'He was worried about you.' He remembered being told. 'The one thing he kept asking me over and over again was whether or not you were even alive.'

The sniffle that came next broke him. "Hey." Vector began, kneeling down to Charmy's level, or at least as close and he could get. "Look, I'm sorry, ok?" Espio was still observing him, silently judging his actions and whether or not he was doing this properly. Yeah, he felt bad, but what did the guy want? He wasn't really good at this sort of stuff! "It's just…well…" the crocodile rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "This day hasn't exactly been one of our best- "

"I was so scared!" Charmy then wailed, letting his voice raise to whatever volume he so wished now. Both Vector and Espio were taken aback by the bee's sudden expression of intense emotion, the former of the two nearly losing his balance as said bee flew right into him, hugging the larger reptile's stomach with the little bit of strength he had left. "I was so scared! I was so scared that those things were going to eat us! That they had already eaten you!" Charmy had said more, though what exactly, no one knew. Words seemed to meld together in a series of disjointed cry-talk that continued to pour out from the six-year-old's mouth until it was nothing more than hiccupping sobs.

Thankfully for Vector, it seemed that Espio had decided to intervene and grant the croc a little mercy, kneeling by the crying Charmy and lightly patting him on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's ok, kid." The larger reptile told the bee. "Look, we're all ok now. See? We're fine."

"I thought you were going to die…" Charmy managed to choke out. "Maybe…that you had already died."

"Well…I was sort of worried about you guys too."

The bee stopped for a moment, looking up at Vector with tear filled eyes. "You did?"

"Yeah, I mean, a little- "a jab to his side alerted the croc that wasn't the answer Charmy needed, let alone the one Espio wanted to hear. 'Oh yeah, liked YOU'D ever admit to that either.' "Okay, yeah. I was worried." Those golden eyes still kept him in their sights. "Super worried. I admit it."

Alright, that was better. Though the small hug the green reptile gave to the smaller insect wasn't what Espio had anticipated. He wasn't even sure if he'd actually go that far.

"I was scared too." Vector confessed, any sort of outer projection of composure and stalwartness completely cast off for the time being. "I mean…heh…if I got taken out, who'd you have left to tangle with those guys?"

"…Espio- "

"He doesn't count." Charmy chuckled at that, the sound of the child finding humor at Vector's comment pleased the chameleon, even if said comment was at his expense. And…wait. Were Vector's eyes actually developing tears?

"Vector?" Charmy asked, the croc then realizing what was happening, he immediately brushing the small bits of moisture away. "Are you- "

"No way." The head of the Chaotix interrupted, standing back up and releasing the smaller insect. "Sinus' has been acting up lately, so it's just like literal crocodile tears. I'm fine."

Tails had taken to staying out of it, yet given how close the they all were, he was also relieved at what he was seeing. Heck, even if a little argument regarding whether or not Vector's tears were the result of sinus' or not was reassuring. Still though, they were technically out on a search. And while they had just gotten started, he couldn't deny that he was still more than a little anxious to go and find 'them'. 'If they had managed to make it on board.' He found coming to him, as much as the thought terrified him. Surely though. Surely, they had made it. True, the last time, only one of them came back (the one he, shamefully, wished to have come back, if he had to choose), yet surely this time would be at least sort of different! It wasn't as if the ship was moving towards the planet or anything! In fact, it seemed that they had actually moved away. Not that this made much of a difference given the odds, yet still, it was different.

Maybe that would strengthen the odds that one, or perhaps both of them would come back-

THUMP

"Hm?"

THUMP

"Hey." The fox spoke, though it appeared he would need to increase his volume. "Hey! Guys, come here, please!" this time, his words registered with the three detectives, momentarily abandoning their reconciliation and coming over towards the duel-tailed kit. "Listen. You hear that?"

THUMP

Thankfully, from the looks on all of their faces, they had indeed. "What's that?" Charmy immediately questioned, a wave of fear coming over his features. "You don't think that maybe- "

"No, no, it's not one of them." Tails assured. "At least I don't think it is."

Vector and Espio surveyed the area, the chameleon closing his eyes and centering in on where the continuous series of thumps originated from. The crocodile was tempted to inquire where the shinobi believed the sounds to be coming from, yet, bizarrely enough (at least according to the chameleon and pestering bee), he knew well that there were certain times to not interrupt his unique brand of concentration.

Espio stood completely still and silent, ears tuned and listening in, waiting for even the faintest indication of where the noises came from. Then finally, at long last, it came to him. "There." He simply stated, gesturing down the hall. "Either from inside one of the rooms on this left side, or…"

"Or what?" Vector asked, Espio turning to him and the rest of the group.

"Or perhaps from inside one of the elevators."

* * *

C'mon…c'mon! Surely somebody was around to hear him!

Sonic had momentarily ceased kicking the door to allow his leg a moment of rest, his body feeling rather sore and worn down. Then again, if the lingering pain in his chest was any indication, he could perhaps add 'broken' to the list too. Looking to the corner, he was sighed at Shadow's relatively unmoving form, he haven't not responded to any of his attempts to try and rouse him.

'Then again, the guy's sort of known for being a heavy sleeper…' he chuckled a little at his small jest, though it was short lived as his chest began acting up again. Yep. Something was definitely broken in there. 'Lovely.'

"It came from around here."

Wait, voices?

"Can you be more specific?"

Ah, yes! He knew those voices!

"It'd help if maybe it'd make another noise."

And from the sound of it, they were right outside!

* * *

THUMP

"There it is!" Charmy exclaimed, all of them turning around to see the closed doors of an elevator, the thumping seemingly originating from whatever, or whomever was trapped inside.

"Vector," Espio began. "Can you still- "

"I think so." The crocodile confirmed. "Though…a little help for this one would be appreciated."

* * *

He jumped a little at the sudden BOOM that came from outside, he coming to see that the entrance to this space was steadily being pulled apart, a large figure with an elongated muzzle serving as the forerunner in opening it with three smaller figures working on the sides. The sudden influx of natural light from outside forced him to adjust his eyes, yet when he did so, he realized where he and his slumbering partner had been transported to, as well as how, without the four outside, they'd probably be in here for a good deal longer.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, ready to fling himself right at the hedgehog had the space been wide enough.

"Hey keed." The speedster greeted, the relative softness of his voice puzzling the fox, but also planting a small seed of worry in him.

"Well, it's good to see the two of you are still in one piece." Vector noted, the four of them widening the door to where exiting the small area was possible.

"Good thing you heard me." Sonic confessed. "Otherwise you'd probably be searching for minutes."

Charmy quirked a brow. "Uh, don't you mean hours?"

"Nope." Sonic shook his head. "Tails would know well enough to find me eventually." The aforementioned fox beamed as he went inside, surveying the inside of the elevator, noticing the curled-up form of Shadow in the corner. "He was like that when we got here. At least I think so." The blue hedgehog paused for a moment, a sudden pain coming to his head. "It wasn't exactly a smooth trip back." 'Way too much like last time.' "And I don't know for sure, but I'm around ninety-nine percent sure that Big Boss Black Doom broke a couple of things in here." Sonic pointed to his chest, Tails in turn easing his way up as he tried to stand. He then looked to his younger, longtime friend. "You look like you've got something you want to say."

Darn it. Even with how much knowledge he had on him, his 'older brother' could still read him like a book after all this time. "There's…something I think you should see." Sonic was puzzled, even more so when Tails took a moment to glance back at the Chaotix. "They're wanting the soldiers and Commander of GUN to see it too."

There wasn't as much fear as the hedgehog expected, yet nonetheless, the subject, whatever it was, didn't exactly seem to be one Tails cared to revisit. All the more that perhaps he should indeed heed the fox's suggestion. "Like what?"

With this confirmation of his accompaniment, Tails took it upon himself to carefully lead his hero up off the floor and out of the elevator. "Can you walk?" Sonic nodded. True, the soreness in his chest had yet to dissipate, yet it seemed that shallow breaths and simple, slow-paced movements lessened the pain. Something of which he begrudgingly accepted. "It's this way." Tails stated, beginning to slowly lead Sonic down the hallway he and the Chaotix had just traveled down.

"Oh, wait." Sonic suddenly remembered, turning to the three detectives, the second smallest of the two nodding to him, seemingly already aware of what he was going to ask of them.

"We'll watch him for you." Espio said. "Go with your friend. Maybe you can make some sense of what he wishes to show you."

The ninja's words were at least somewhat assuring to him, yet now that Tails took this as a for sure sign he could lead him to this scene of supposed strangeness, Sonic braced himself for whatever had managed to both somewhat frighten, yet also befuddled his longtime friend.

After they had turned a corner, Espio gazed down at the still unconscious Shadow still inside the elevator, he, unlike Sonic, having not moved an inch since the two were discovered. This in itself was something of an oddity to the trio as a whole: while it was clear, if not outright obvious, that combating whatever creature previously outside that was holding the Ark in its grip would surely result in an injury or two, comparing the two hedgehogs brought out a slew of questions. Sonic, despite some evident difficulty in standing and dealing with quick movements, was for the most part, attentive and aware. Shadow, on the other hand, was still here, curled up in a ball and generally unresponsive.

"Charmy, cut it out!" even with their youngest member's attempts to try and rouse him.

"Can't we try to move him at least?" the little bee asked. "Seeing him like this is weirding me out."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Espio told him. "We don't know what kind of state he's in. And if Sonic's condition is any indication, then we might end up irritating any internal- "

"Wait, you hear that?"

The violet chameleon ceased speaking for a moment, ears listening to whatever Charmy had seemingly heard.

"Mmm…" had that come from- "Mmmm…mm…" it did! It had come from Shadow!

"I think he's waking up." Charmy whispered, beginning to back away from the darkly colored lifeform.

The movements were small and barely noticeable at first, yet with time, the hedgehog's tightly packed form began to stir and shudder, all the while moaning in an attempt to perhaps signal some part of him was injured. Or maybe it was just sleep talk, none of the three were too sure.

In one last try to get some sort of reaction out of him, Charmy had, against the wishes of his fellow detectives, put his hand on Shadow's shoulder, he in turn flinching at his touch. Though this in itself proved to not exactly be the wisest decision, as, while the bee couldn't see this, let alone the rest of the Chaotix, the moment the gloved hand made contact, the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes had shot wide open.

 **Further Down the Hall, Control Panel**

The sight of a clawed, black hand peeking out from the doorway had given Sonic pause, as well as igniting him to stop Tails from continuing forward, trying to put himself in front of him.

"It's fine." The young fox told him, the Fastest Thing Alive only growing more and more confused. "It…let's just say it'll make more sense once you see it. Sort of."

Sort of? He wasn't exactly sure if he liked the sound of that, let alone the fact they were going towards something that had terrorized all of them since they arrived on the Ark. Yet as the two of them got closer and closer, it was clear that the hand, let alone the arm that it was attached to, hadn't moved a single inch. Even when they had gotten in mere feet of it. If the creature said arm belonged to was either awake or alive, surely it would've registered by now that someone was coming. Yet still, nothing.

'What in the world…' Sonic thought, though upon reaching the doorway, he was presented with an answer, one that robbed him of any and all words that could've come to him in that very moment.

Whatever this room had once been, let alone what it was for, had been mostly obscured from view. Mainly by the plethora of familiar, black creatures inside. The one that had its arm outside of the door had its lower half crushed underneath the upper body of another, and that one had its lower half hidden by yet another motionless form atop of it. The small cluster of forms were stacked atop of each other and lying in positions that ranged from ordinary and expected to those that looked undeniably painful. Surely, they couldn't stand being that way for long…unless…

"Are they…"

Tails nodded, not giving Sonic the chance to finish. "At least, I think so." He didn't try to go inside, mainly due to the fact that there was no room, unless he wished to traverse over the small hill of bodies. Though, he did pull Sonic a bit closer, just so that he could see the ceiling inside the small space. "They broke the door down, so Espio, Charmy, and I had to hide up there." He gestured to the empty space in the far corner of the room, that particular opening a far cleaner job than the two other holes not far from it. "They tried to get us out." The young fox continued. "And they nearly did- "he stopped for a moment, Sonic's grip tightening around his hand. "But that's when the one that grabbed me seemed to just let go. I mean, I still fell out, but…" he paused. There had to be a better way to describe what he witnessed than simply saying 'they all fell down', yet frankly, that was exactly what had happened. Well, perhaps there was a bit more to it than that. "The one that grabbed me looked like something had come over it. Like…one moment, it had me where it wanted, and the next, it didn't even acknowledge me at all. None of them did. They all just started up at the ceiling, standing at attention like a bunch of soldiers."

Soldiers…yes. Soldiers that, despite their far smaller and far less capable prey literally at their feet, devoted their entire focus and attention to whatever, or whoever, their leader was telling them. It had completely baffled Tails when it occurred, yet along the way here, Sonic had the chance to inform him of whom this 'Big Boss' of these beings were, which had allowed him to put a better picture in his head of what exactly was going on, not to mention ignite a flurry of curiosities. Curiosities that, from the look of things, were never going to be answered. Fortunately, Tails found such a thing to not be overly upsetting. If knowing how these things functioned meant trading away his 'big brother's' return, then he could do without the former.

Still, it had made itself a central wonder at the moment, even more so now that he knew of this 'Black Doom' figure. While he had agreed with his former statement on the creatures behaving like soldiers awaiting orders from some far off presence he couldn't sense in any way, something known and felt, and 'cherished' by them. It had begun with just one, the one that had managed to snag the fox by the tail. It, along with its companions, gazed upward, as if into the very heavens above.

Then, Tails saw it. Odd, that he'd come to realize such details only after it happened, yet in that moment in time, one by one, he saw their forms slacken and their eyes lose any and all traces or sparks of life. True, the eyes of the creatures were never really detailed to begin with, little more than blank, yellowing orbs affixed in their skulls, yet he couldn't deny there was a presence of something within, primitive and bare minimum as it was, little more than uncontrolled instincts ready to be acted upon at any moment (or when Doom gave them the go-ahead to do so). In just seconds, even that faded away from them, their limbs giving out not long after that. And that was how the scene before the two came to be.

He wouldn't lie in saying that despite his gratefulness in being alive, neither he, nor Charmy or Espio were exactly comfortable in suddenly being in a room full of presumed corpses, the latter navigating the two children out of the room as quick as he could. The three of them then began a trek to the lower levels of the ship in search of Vector, though with the power to the entire ship down, the first thing they needed to do is find a stairwell. Something of which was surprisingly difficult to find. Thankfully for them, it seemed that, somehow, the crocodile had managed to find more than a few on his own, otherwise any sort of reunion between the three Chaotix members would've taken longer than it already did.

And now, it had begun to look up for him as well, seeing as Sonic was right beside him now. Everything was going fine, after these past few days of mayhem and madness. Everything was going back to being ok.

So why did he feel that something wasn't exactly right? Or better yet…finished?

"NO!"

"Whoa, what the?!"

Sonic and Tails whirled their heads around, the source of the sudden cry emitting from where they had just come from.

"He's out of control!"

"Hold him down!"

What in the world?! Before Tails could even vocally voice his own surprise, the blue hedgehog wasted no time in traveling down the hallway, albeit at a far slower pace than usual, and with his hand pressed up against his chest. The young fox followed suit, actually surprised that he didn't have as much trouble in keeping up with Sonic. A good thing too, considering that the two were possibly about to step into something to be resolved, yet nonetheless dangerous. Maybe in more ways than one.

 **Elevator**

Vector lunged forward the second he saw Shadow's foot nearly take Charmy's head off, practically throwing himself atop of him when the bee flew out of the way. Still, even with the larger reptile's weight, the hedgehog still found a way to make the task of keeping him down difficult.

"I have to go!" Shadow shouted, Vector wincing due to how close the other was to his ears. "Don't you understand, I have to go!"

"Go where?!" the crocodile questioned, all the while trying to hold the hedgehog down. Espio, however, stood back and observed.

"It's going to crash!" Shadow bellowed, still struggling. He felt so weak, why was he so weak?! "It's going to crash into the Earth!"

"What are you talking about?! What's going to- "

"Wait." Vector felt a hand on his shoulder, the chameleon looking down at the smaller individual in his (breaking) hold. "Let me handle this."

"What's going on?!"

Vector momentarily abandoned his focus to see Sonic and Tails rushing towards them (the former bizarrely slower than normal), this in turn allowing Shadow to work his way out of the reptile's grip and make a break for it out of the elevator, nearly running right into Espio. Though unknownst to him or anyone else, this was the crucial step needed for the ninja to implement his strategy. He had but a moment, so no mistakes could be afforded. Shadow was quick on his feet, yet it was clear he was more than a little disoriented, a factor that allowed the chameleon to actually manage in seizing the hedgehog's wrist and whirling him around in the opposite direction. In this brief instance of confusion, Espio then brought Shadow to the wall, away from the windows lining the right side of the wall.

"What are you doing?!" Sonic protested, beginning to make his way over to pull the ninja off of Shadow, yet Tails held him back.

"I think he knows what he's doing." The fox assured, Sonic far from liking it, yet his friend's judgement was usually sound, thus, he resigned to letting what was occurring play out. For now.

"Shadow, let me ask you," Espio began, though what came out of his mouth next took everyone by surprise. "Are the lights on?"

What? What in the world sort of question was that?! Almost everyone wished to protest or at least ask what Espio was even thinking, yet before any such thing could be said, he asked yet again.

"Answer me. Are the lights on?"

Shadow growled in response, just about to throw this foolish reptile off of him. Couldn't he see that they were all in danger?! That…that the lights were not on. The lights…they weren't on. His struggles began to lessen, widened eyes beginning to analyze the environment around him.

'They…were on…last time. The power was on last time…and…and I was…' though Espio had yet to release him, Shadow looked behind him, his and the rest of the group's reflection cast in the glassy surface. 'Window. It was by the window.' He then looked around, taking in each and every face present with him, noticing a distinct lack of pink. 'She…she's not…'

He…he wasn't there. He was here. Here, in the present. And the Earth…the Earth was where it had always been. In fact, dare he say, it appeared as if the Ark itself had moved away from the planet.

It was then that he remembered how he had come to be here. Away from falling to Mars. Away from the burning.

And yet, he felt as if the entire world had grown cold around him.

When it was clear that Shadow had calmed down to a degree (whether or not he was 'fine' was up for debate), Espio pulled Sonic to the side.

"How'd you do that?" Sonic asked, the chameleon leaning in close, he wishing for this particular conversation to be somewhat private.

"Dr. Eggman fired the Eclipse Cannon when he came here, yes?" the hedgehog's face stiffened somewhat at hearing this, yet still, he nodded, steadily letting his more recognized features overtake the small number of cracks that seeped through. "Well, in that case, I'd imagine that power was still available to most of the ship then." Thinking about it, that made sense. It was something to bring Shadow back to reality. "As much as I'd like to continue this, I think it's best that you three make yourselves scarce. I don't know exactly where he is, yet I'd imagine that if anyone from GUN or the Commander himself catches sight of…" he paused, looking back in the opposite direction.

Sonic at first was confused, yet soon, he too came to hear it. Footsteps. Footsteps of something or someone approaching and approaching fast. Was it…but Tails showed him, it couldn't have been. The room was full of them! Yet still…could some of them still have-

"Ah, there you are!"

No, it wasn't any of the creatures. Though from Espio's warning, Sonic wasn't exactly sure whether or not 'their' appearance was much better.

A small clutch of GUN soldiers, five in total, had spotted them, and in turn, began making their way towards them, stopping only when they were not but a few feet away. From the looks of it, the small rag-tag group was rather diverse, each man seemingly presenting a different race and/or nationality, the only linking factor being the organization's uniform.

"Well, now…" one of them began, approaching the collection of smaller animals. He was relatively tall, roughly around six feet, and though the lack of general lighting made telling for sure somewhat difficult, his skin appeared to be a darker color, perhaps a shade of brown. All of their eyes were concealed though, visors with specialized goggles over them, each eye piece glowing a red light. "You know, for the 'Fastest Thing Alive', it actually wasn't that hard to find." He explained. "Granted, we still had to do some looking, but I didn't think you'd all be on the same floor." His voice was deep, though it, bizarrely enough, bore a sense of friendliness in his tone, though whether or not this was genuine had yet to be seen.

"Officer, please." Tails began. "Both of them are hurt, Sonic definitely." He gestured to the two with him, Sonic somewhat miffed he had to mention that detail, while Shadow seemed to be completely entranced by the soldier in front of them. "We have no problem co-operating with you, but right now, I need to treat- "

"It's okay, kid." The dark-skinned soldier assured, one of his comrades, an ethnic man possibly hailing from Chun-nan speaking soon after.

"Truth be told, we're actually really glad we found you all in one piece. I mean, heh, at first, we were sort of afraid that none of us were going to get out of this one." He eyed the band of animals, surveying and looking for any heavy or potentially fatal damage. So far, so good, yet he wasn't a medical expert, so it wasn't exactly his call.

"Basically, here's how it's going to go." Another soldier said, this particular man bearing far lighter skin. "The Commander ordered us to find and take you back for treatment. I know you guys are tough, but a cut and bruise happen to the best of us, you know?"

"And?" Sonic asked.

"…and perhaps ask you three a couple of questions. Once you're all patched up." The soldier admitted. "After all, in case you haven't noticed, those creatures and you sort of torn the place up pretty bad. And given the Ark is technically property of the United Federation, we're going to need to get a pretty good cleanup crew up here and patch things up. Plus, I guess you could say, we're all sort of anxious to hear how in the world you kicked that ugly thing outside the ship to the curb."

"Ahem!"

The soldier turned to the fluttering Charmy, whom was looking a little insulted. "AND how you fought off all those ugly mothers around here." He paused for a moment. "Speaking of, have you seen any of those creatures recently?"

"There's a room full of them not too far from here." Tails answered. "All of them dead."

This detail seemed to garner a good amount of interest from the small band of recruits, each of them looking to the young fox. "You too?" one questioned, dark skinned, yet not as dark as the other in his group. Plus, he bore something of an accent to his voice, a twinge of Shamar's dialect coming through in his words. "Any of them do this weird, shaking thing before they dropped?"

"To an extent." Espio nodded. "Though it was more evident in some than in others. It appeared as if each of them were suddenly stricken with some bizarre, collective condition of sorts, they all then ceasing to move and…" he bit his lip, not really even understanding what he was saying, despite having been witness to it himself. "I assume, presumably die."

An exchange regarding the details of what each party saw began, the Chaotix and Tails having more to offer the soldiers than either Sonic or Shadow, though at the moment, the latter wasn't even accounted for aside from him being there. Though if one were to peer into his mind, they could see he definitely had something to add.

'Lies.'

Throughout the entire exchange, Shadow hadn't uttered one word. Not a single sound came from him. In fact, he had made it a point to keep himself out of any sort of potential interactions with the uniformed man. Still though, he had been more than listening well enough.

'Liar.'

Enough to know that everything these men had just said was a complete and utter fabrication.

* * *

She held onto him tight, whether for his protection or her own, he knew not. Nevertheless, at that moment, they were both in the same predicament. The blonde child tried her hardest not to tremble, to keep her breathing low and soft, despite the fact she was near hyperventilating. Shadow didn't dare push her away, despite how hard her hold had become.

* * *

"So this 'Black Doom' had taken the ship? Literally?"

"Yep." Sonic confirmed. "You might've felt it. He kind of did a disappearing act a couple of times, so you guys might've been shaken around a bit."

"A bit?" the Shamar man said. "I'm surprised none of us have a concussion!" he patted his helmet. "I keep underestimating the thickness of these things here."

* * *

"Come on out."

Neither Shadow nor Maria could entirely see through the small crack the closet provided, though the shuffling and approaching footsteps outside of the small sanctuary made it evident enough that any attempt in emerging would be a last resort.

"We know you're in here." Another one of the humans in the same darkened uniform stated, the red flash of his goggles passing over the two individuals just mere feet away. "We just need to ask you a few questions."

He then saw it. In the end, Maria had known better than to take the bait, yet still, for a brief moment, a wave of relief washed over her features. Logic and reason set in before she could do anything foolish, yet still, the prospect of there being no danger lingered. It was impossible. She and Shadow having seen and had to make their way over some of the scientists these humans had gotten to already, yet the hedgehog could still see it.

Though, even if it wasn't safe, surely, they wouldn't do anything to her. Surely not. She was just a child. A sick child. A sick, defenseless child…

"There's no need to be scared."

Any sense of potential safety for her, however, was completely shattered by what both of them heard next. Despite the limited range of sight, the human seemed to be reaching for something. Something that gave off a distinct 'click', as if some sort of component on it was being pulled back. Or better yet, cocked.

* * *

"Look," the Shamar man looked to the darker skinned soldier, whom had interrupted the conversation. "As interested as I am regarding what happened and to whom, that's what we came here to gather them up for, right?"

* * *

"We're not going to hurt you."

They were coming closer.

"You have any friends up here?"

Just mere inches away from the opening.

"Maybe you can help us out."

* * *

His red eyes saw the dark skinned soldier reach for some object on his belt.

'Maybe you can help us find 'him'…'

* * *

He had to act. He had to act NOW. Otherwise she…

* * *

The GUN recruit couldn't have prepared himself, even if he had known what was to come.

Just as he was retrieving one of his essentials from its place, he had become aware that a curled up, compact object of sorts had slammed itself directly into his gut, his feet and every other portion of himself losing contact with the ground until his back slammed into the wall behind him. Shadow landed a foot or two away, eyeing the downed, but clearly conscious soldier.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sonic hollered, the other hedgehog not responding to his inquiry, nor to the collective sounds of weapons being drawn and cocked.

He knew it. He KNEW it was a trap!

As he was about to turn towards the other soldiers, he was suddenly made aware of how the one he had just brought down also began fiddling for something. He knew it. He KNEW it!

Lunging forward, the hedgehog seized the human by the wrist, feeling the barrel of the drawn pistol brushing against the tip of his nose as he and the human wrestled each other to gain possession of the weapon. He had managed to duck out of the way, yet the bullet had managed to scrape against the side of Shadow's tanned cheek, the skin tearing and releasing a fresh stream of bright green fluid to leak from the wound. The closeness of the barrel had made the resulting gunfire incredibly painful on the Ultimate Lifeform's ears, that nearly allowing the GUN soldier to wrangle back control over his gun. He had to act, he had to get it away from him!

"GET OFF HIM!" a voice from behind demanded, reaching forward in an effort to pull Shadow off of the soldier, but he found that such an effort wasn't needed.

Another had gone and done it for him.

* * *

Now or never. He had to do. He had to do something, otherwise they…no. Not they. SHE would be-

The closet's doors were forced open, the sight of red visors and the barrels of weapons being aimed right at their heads meeting them. Though neither of the two humans got a chance.

Shadow launched himself forward, bringing one of the two men down and delivering a solid kick to his head. The other had begun to fire at him, yet the smaller hedgehog managed to duck under the gunman's fire and slide into his shin, dislodging him and causing him to topple over. He had tried to get up, along with his comrade, yet the Ultimate Lifeform was having none of it. Any attempts at trying to retrieve their weapons were met with their fingers being crushed underneath his heel, and when they had tried to combat him physically, he simply delivered the same back.

How dare they…how DARE they try and deceive him in such a way. Deceive her into thinking that they wouldn't be harmed!

'Disgusting humans and their filthy weapons- '

"SHADOW! STOP!"

He felt someone seize him by the shoulders, forcibly turning him around to face them.

* * *

Though it was not her face that he saw.

In place of two, moist, azure orbs, iris' of Peridot bore into his ruby ones, the blue hedgehog that had taken the initiative to make such a move continuing to speak to him.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Sonic bellowed, Shadow still baffled by the fact that it was not a young, human girl that was in front of him. And yet, the speedster's words echoed her own. Almost.

'You're going to kill them if you keep this up! You don't want that, do you?!'

"He's not wanting to hurt us! Don't you see that?! These guys came here because they wanted to see if we were okay!"

'If they see this, they'll shoot you for sure! You're not like that Shadow!'

"You've got his gun already! What else can he do to you?!"

'You've got his gun…you've got his gun…you've got his…' this phrase repeated on loop in Shadow's mind, his eyes falling to the weapon clutched in his hand.

Then it hit him.

'He…he wasn't reaching for the gun.' Shadow's eyes turned to the dark-skinned man still on the ground, looking to one particular object still on his belt. One located near the pistol, just one space away. 'The communicator. He was going for the…'

"Whoa, whoa!" Sonic suddenly cried out, the other hedgehog noticing that the other GUN recruits were beginning to move in on them. "It's fine! It's fine now! See?" as if to demonstrate, Sonic pulled Shadow away from the soldier had attacked, said soldier steadily working his way up, clutching his stomach as he did so.

Shadow turned his gaze down to the floor the moment the man's eyes met his. Or rather, when he became aware that he had just made a spectacle of himself in front of everyone. And over something so simple and foolish. Yet he thought the soldier was going to do it. He truly, honestly believed that he was going to open fire on all of them.

Espio looked upon the scene with a disapproving, yet also troubled look, he glancing to the giant crocodile beside him.

"It looks like Commander Tower is going to get his hands on him after all…"

 **Earth**

They were…here?

Back on Earth again?

How much time had passed since their departure from the Ark?

All these questions ran through Shadow's mind as he steadily became aware of the horizon above him, having gained a light blue color instead of black, and clouds having taken the place of unmoving, stagnant stars.

The span of time between his assault on the GUN soldier and his boarding of one of their ships was mostly lost to him, he finding that, despite his actions beforehand, the effects of the battle he and Sonic had with Black Doom still lingered on, even now. Surprising what the combination of fear and adrenaline could allow one to do, even in such a weakened state, though the trade off was the extremely powerful sense of drainage that followed afterward. Perhaps that was why Shadow couldn't even find it in himself to keep his eyes open when the trip back to the planet began, let alone put up any resistance to being taken aboard a vessel owned by these particular humans of all people.

From what he knew, Sonic and Tails had taken to boarding the same ship as he, the Chaotix having rode along in another. That said, he had taken to making sure he wasn't disturbed, heading for the very back and situating himself in what he assumed to be a storage closet, a window serving as the only way to see when they would arrive back on Earth.

An event that he had missed.

From what he could see, aside from the environment outside, little else had changed. True, his placement in the furthest part of the shuttle had left him with little to observe (save for the various items around him, guns unfortunately being amongst them), Shadow could only assume that everyone else was still aboard and in their original places.

Though that would soon be changing, perhaps, as he came to realize that they had been traveling longer than he initially thought. He had just realized that the ship was flying over a vast body of water, assumedly the ocean, yet where they were heading left him with little idea as to where they were heading. From what he could see, there was essentially nothing in this vast, empty area but the fathomless depths below, and even further out, a ring of mountains that the ship was heading right towards.

Wait a moment…

To Shadow's surprise, the ship appeared to be heading straight for the mountains but a few hundred miles or so away, particularly the largest in the small cluster.

Yet surely, they weren't going to allow themselves to fly straight into it. Unless…

KNOCK KNOCK!

Shadow's focus was torn from the incoming mountain and to the door, said door being opened by a uniformed man that had up and invited himself into the small storage space. The hedgehog said nothing, though his expression more than indicated he was awaiting an answer as to why the soldier had come.

"Good, you're awake." He simply stated. "Saves me the trouble from having to get you up." He had said something else under his breath, Shadow's ears lowering, as it wasn't quite as quiet as the soldier intended it to be.

"Whatever I do, or you think I'm about to do should be of no concern to you." The hedgehog responded. "Besides, I'm far from having any 'freak-outs' or whatever else you believe."

"Fine by me." The soldier answered, the hostility being directed toward him being mutual. "And while it may not mean anything to you, I'd start being a little more thankful if I were you. Or do you seriously not have any idea how much trouble you're actually in?"

"I thought you came back here for a progress report, not to deliver a lecture."

"No, that's a pleasure the Commander has just for you." The human snarled, just about ready to grab this disrespectful little animal by the scruff of his neck and drag him kicking and screaming to the front of the ship. "And he's also ordered that you be brought in, unharmed. So long as you don't provide anyone a reason to fire. Cause if you try anything, well, let's just say the Chaos Emeralds aren't around to give you a little boost."

There was no point in asking if that was a threat. As quickly as he had arrived, the soldier left Shadow alone again, shutting the door behind him. Huffing at the human's attempt at intimidating him, the Ultimate Lifeform simply went back to watching the scenery outside, the mountain inching ever and ever closer. Specifically, the lower portion, the ship just barely touching the waves below.

'Those goggles...I hate what they do to me...'

Finally, they had drawn close enough to where impact was inevitable. Or at least, it would've, had some of the mountain itself not begun to move.

As if sensing the presence of the very ship itself, a portion of the rocky surface of the natural formation had sunk into itself, as if a rectangular cut had been made in the surface. Then said cut begun to move to the left, slowly, yet given its size, fast enough to create the appropriate amount of room for the ship to make its way inside the now open space. The aircraft went inside, the wheels located at the bottom emerging and touching the floor of what appeared to be something of an airstrip, the power of the thrusters lowering considerably, yet with just enough to ease the large vehicle around, it being landed in the most eastern corner of the vast, empty room. Though it was unlikely it'd remain that way for long.

Shadow was brought back to the present by the door of his temporary sanctuary being opened, the same soldier from before not even bothering to knock. "Come on, you." He ordered. "The Commander's yet to arrive, so until then, you and your…'buddies' are going to be going down and wait until you're called up."

 **Sometime Later**

Apparently, the 'buddies' comment meant nothing, as the ebony hedgehog found himself completely on his lonesome once again. It wasn't as if he was bothered by such a thing. If anything, he was more than welcoming of more time to be alone, though in this instance, he couldn't deny that, bizarrely enough, he preferred the confines of the GUN ship than this little room. The room had the same look as what little else he had seen of the organization's hidden base: stainless steel that had the same shiny look to it with little to no view to the outside world. At least not where he was currently. And while he was sure that (assumedly) there had to be some color aside from grey in this place, it wouldn't have surprised him if it was far and in between. There was a single table and two chairs, a single, overhead light hanging up above him, serving as the only source of light. Otherwise, the entire area would've been engulfed in total darkness.

Though the current décor (or lack thereof) wasn't what puzzled him.

Initially, he, Sonic, and Tails had been removed and taken in together. From the elevator located in the dock to presumably one of the lower floors in this massive structure hidden behind layers of rock, all three of them were in close proximity to each other. Yet once they had reached the desired floor, they were immediately separated. One soldier took Sonic and Tails in a pair whilst Shadow was 'escorted' by two soldiers to the room he was currently stationed in.

"Wait here." They had told him. "And don't even think of trying to escape. Not unless you're a really good swimmer."

He simply glowered at them as they left. Though ultimately, they were correct. And while he wasn't entirely sure of how skilled of a swimmer he was, at the moment, he wasn't all too eager to experiment with it. Black Doom's blows had still lingered and caused his body to ache, even with however much time had passed since then. Sure, he would heal, yet that didn't exactly mean he was immune to pain.

So here he sat in this small, confined space. Nothing but four walls, an overhead light, an analog clock on the western wall, and a table with two chairs. Nowhere to go, no means to make a quick getaway, nothing. And really, no reason to even try getting out of here. At least not yet.

 **Later Still  
**

Three hours…

He had been held up in here for three whole hours.

Three whole hours in this tiny, compact room. Three hours with nothing. No view to the outside world, nothing but that blasted clock ticking away, wearing down more and more on his already tested patience.

This was growing to be unbearable. True, Shadow realized that given the events prior, he perhaps should've been more grateful that boredom was all that he had to currently deal with, yet this sense of isolation, forced isolation, had, bizarrely enough, began to trigger some sort of uneasiness within him.

'Sealed up.' He didn't understand why such a thought came to him, let alone why it was worded that particular way, yet being here, in 'their' territory, it seemed that it had caused something of a chain reaction. 'Sealed up.' He repeated, more and more related terms flooding his mind. 'Caught. Brought. Tested. Needles. Drugged. Sick. Nauseous. Tired…'

CLICK!

The hedgehog's ears flinched, the knob of the door being turned, his widen, red eyes observing whom was entering, the human's duel colored eyes staring back into his own.

"Well now, it seems they're right. You HAVE been sitting quietly." Commander Tower stated, voice lacking the former hostility from before, yet it still retained a prevalent coldness. Two other GUN soldiers entered with him, one of them closing and locking the door behind them. They then took their places by the door, standing parallel to each other whilst their silver haired leader took a seat in the chair nearest said door. "Go on," he gestured to the other chair opposite of him. "Have a seat."

Shadow didn't budge.

"Please." The Commander sighed. "There's much we need to discuss, and there's still much to do. The sooner you can answer a few questions for us, the sooner you can leave."

After a few moments, the hedgehog stood up and made his way to the table, planting himself in the chair, both he and the older human now just mere feet away from each other, the light overhead shining down. Shadow found that, despite his eagerness in getting out of here, he was somewhat slow in finding a good way to begin this inevitable conversation. Of course, it then came to him that essentially, there probably was no 'good' way, so he parted his lips to say the first thing that came to him.

"First thing's first." Only to find that it wasn't necessary. The Commander had beat him to it. "Is it true?"

"What?" Shadow asked, puzzled. "Is what true?"

"Is he…" the older human paused for a moment, lowering his head from the smaller hedgehog's view, his once still body briefly overtaken by a light trembling before returning to its former state. "Is he gone? Is Black Doom truly gone?"

'What in the world is wrong with him?' Shadow wondered, though upon not receiving an answer, the man repeated his question.

"Is he gone?"

"…yes." The hedgehog confirmed. "I fell-" now it was the Commander's turn to observe him, Shadow momentarily averting his eyes and gazing down at the floor. "I fell…with him." His upper set of teeth bit down on his lower lip, lightly grinding the tan flesh in between both sets. "Towards Mars. Look, if my word doesn't- "

"It does." The silver haired man interrupted. "You're not the only one who arrived here. In fact, the reason it took us so long to get to you was because we wanted to get the entire account of what occurred. From all parties involved." He placed his gloved hand on the smooth surface of the table. "Sonic the Hedgehog, that young fox friend of his, the detectives we hired to gather data from the Ark, our own men, the list goes on from there. That doesn't even take into account the hundreds of civilians that have had a run in with those things- "

"Black Arms."

The Commander raised one, thick brow. "Excuse me?"

"Those creatures, they call themselves the Black Arms."

"Did 'he' tell you?" Shadow's eyes shifted away from the man's gaze. "Well? Did 'he'? Did Black Doom himself tell you this?"

"…yes."

Commander Tower's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, the two soldiers stationed near the door sharing a glance with each other. If Shadow had centered his gaze upon the human at this moment, he would've observed him performing some of the same behaviors as himself, particularly in grinding his lower lip between his teeth. "I see…" he finally said, folding his hands together. And whilst Shadow couldn't entirely be certain, he could've sworn he heard something else. Though all he could catch was "So, they have a name…" whatever the rest was, the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't be aware of it, as given what he had just heard, the older human wished to get this conversation going. "Well, good news for you is that I don't believe you're lying."

"And you assume I have a reason to?"

"Never said you did or didn't. I'm simply saying that your story lines up with what Sonic told us. Black Doom fell to Mars with you in his hold, and with the last amount of Chaos Energy he held, Sonic made use of Chaos Control to warp the two of you back to the Ark. Albeit in an elevator, but still, back aboard. Does that sound about right to you?"

Despite whatever sense of indifference he was trying to present, Shadow could still detect the hostility buried in his seemingly matter-of-fact tone. "Completely." The hedgehog responded, matching the Commander's own tone.

"What about the part where you assaulted one of our own when a small group of our men found you?"

Despite every part of him commanding he do so, Shadow managed to not recoil upon hearing that. Still, in retrospect, he should've known better than to assume this entire thing wouldn't be filled with questions such as that. Heck, if anything, this entire session would be nothing more than forcibly reviewing and detailing experiences that he himself didn't quite understand, let alone normally share with one such as this human.

"I didn't- "

"Didn't mean to?" Tower interrupted, clearly not buying the hedgehog's excuse for his prior behavior.

"You're far from one to talk! If I recall, you fired a good few rounds yourself!"

"I can accept that defense, but please, do try to explain this one. What reason would there be for what occurred between yourself and our men after Black Doom's…demise?"

"I didn't know he was reaching for his communicator." Shadow finished. "I…" why was this so difficult? All he was doing was recounting what had happened, yet with such a simple thing, a slew of unpleasantness came with it. "I truly believed that he was reaching for his weapon. That he and the rest of those soldiers- "

"Were going to open fire?" Shadow didn't respond, though his silence said more than enough. Yet, bizarrely enough, the Commander's tone had seemingly began to shift. Dare he say, he could detect a sense of understanding in his voice? Empathy even? The head of GUN went silent for a moment or two, looking down towards the floor for a brief half minute before turning his attention back to Shadow. "You wouldn't be the first to think that. And I suppose now, you would've been right to do such."

The hedgehog was completely baffled. Was he still talking to the same man that had tried to outright murder him beforehand?

"Please, leave us."

The two soldiers and Shadow himself were blown away by what the Commander had just said. "S-Sir! I don't think- "

"There's no danger here. Not currently." Tower stated. "Please, leave us for now."

Neither of them wished to, yet the command was clear, and an order from the highest of all of them could not be disobeyed. So, albeit with much reluctance, the two uniformed recruits made their way out, closing and locking the door behind them, leaving Shadow and Commander tower as the only two individuals inside. Confined and trapped with each other, with only the other for any source of conversation or company.

 **Note: Next part up after this! Not really much to say here as this update's going to be a double features! Thank you all for reading!**


	12. Catalyst of Convergence Part 12

**Note: It's here! The last part is here! Course you all probably knew that from the last note on the last chapter. Oh, it feels so good to get this out here. Thank you all for your patience!**

 **Prologue: Catalyst of Convergence Part 12**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

"I'll be frank about it." Commander Tower began. "I'm more than a little conflicted on what to do with you right now."

"Oh, are you now?"

"Yes, and you're lucky we're currently in the process of picking up all the little pieces Doom managed to leave behind for us, otherwise we'd be more inclined to be a bit less 'kind' in this little exchange."

"Yes, I just DECIDED to go and potentially forgo my life just because! It had nothing to do with the fact that Black Doom was ousted as a deceiver and was simply using me to gain what he wanted!"

"Did he now?"

Shadow was completely stonewalled. Was this old fool truly serious?! "What sort of question is that?! Otherwise- "

"Otherwise what? You WOULD'VE gone along with him?"

The hedgehog froze. "What- "

"You would've gone through with his plan to bring the comet to Earth? To devour the entirety of the human race and possibly every other life form on the planet? To leave it a completely desolate, uninhabitable wasteland?"

Shadow grit his teeth. This fool…how dare he. How DARE he even think-

"Because from what I saw back in Westopolis, you seemed to have no issue in simply letting those monsters run amuck and tear apart whatever they could get their hands on- "

" **I MADE HER A PROMISE!"**

The force of Shadow's fists pounding down on the table's surface reverberated throughout the small room, the lamp overhead beginning to sway back and forth.

"I promised her…" the Ultimate Lifeform breathed out, far from completely calming down, yet it seemed he had made his point clear. "I don't remember when I said it, let alone how it was even said truly, but I KNOW I did it! I told her, I PROMISED her that I'd- "

'Give them a chance…'

"I would…"

'…to be happy.'

He stopped for a moment, lowering his head, not daring to show his face to the human opposite of him. He dare not allow any to see him in such a state as this. He was losing control fast and needed to pull himself back together. "It…it makes no sense." He managed to get out. "It makes no sense, because…I know little to nothing about her. Even now, even after all- "he paused for a moment, realizing he needed to choose his next words very carefully. "All I was told, I still know barely anything."

He had been silent throughout the hedgehog's entire speech, yet finally, the older human saw fit to interject. And bizarrely enough, not with any inkling of an accusation or any hostile remark. "You…you really don't know, do you?" he questioned, Shadow beginning to raise his head, features beginning to ease back into a state where emotion was greatly subdued. "You remember nothing at all?" the hedgehog didn't answer. "Her favorite color, her favorite books, her begging Dr. Robotnik to plant a garden in the ship?"

The questions were painful, each of them the equivalent of another stabbing reminder of just how little he had been given by that accursed horned devil. They weren't spoken out of maliciousness, he could tell that much, and whilst their prior encounter didn't allow him much time to truly reflect on it (the information of his…'relation' being at the forefront of his mind), the Commander spoke as if such things were common knowledge to him. Maria had wished to plant a garden on the Ark? When did that happen?

'Then again…that book she was reading…it dealt with the physiology of plants, didn't it?'

"Well then…" he heard the Commander speak again. "That just makes things even more complicated." Before Shadow could question as to what he meant by that, he continued. "But we'll be getting to that later. Right now," he leaned forward. "I want to know one thing, and answer me honestly."

"You're saying I wouldn't?"

"Never a bad idea to be too careful." The human then went on. "When I say that I don't know what to do with you…bear in mind, it's not out of any sort of personal vendetta."

So he said, yet Shadow clearly had his doubts.

"I'm just trying to wrap my mind around this." The Commander steadied himself, tension seeping from his features and brow creasing before said features smoothed out, though the hedgehog doubted they were completely dissipated. Rather, they were simply hidden. Lying just underneath the skin, ready to emerge once outside circumstances made said concealment impossible. "First off, I will say that your actions, in the end, resulted in the extermination of the invading forces, and thus, assumedly, the end of what would've surely an absolute catastrophe before it began."

'But?' Shadow thought.

"However," not exactly 'but', yet it was essentially the same thing. "If I was simply going by that, then that'd make me someone looking at this with rose-colored glasses. And frankly, that's not how the world, nor I myself work." His gloved hands rested on the perfectly stainless surface of the table, his duel colored eyes centering themselves onto Shadow's own ruby ones. "But perhaps the best place to start from is the beginning. As in, the beginning of what you can remember. Before anything relating to the invasion occurred."

Whether he was truly being genuine or if the wording was simply yet another jab at him, Shadow knew not. For all he knew, it could've (and probably was) been a combination of the two. And what he had asked…as if he hadn't given him enough indicators already that such information was speculative at best, and little more than bits and pieces fumbling around in his brain at worst. Still though, the man did ask specifically what he knew, so, to an extent, he could deliver that much.

Shadow was silent for a small amount of time, the Commander puzzled as to whether or not he simply refused to answer or was in the midst of preparing and deciding on how to exactly phrase his upcoming speech. Thankfully (for both of them), Shadow had seen fit to deliver on his end, even if out of nothing more than his wishing to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Commander Tower listened as the Ultimate Lifeform told an abridged version of his tale, or at least what he knew it to be before all of this occurred. From his sudden awareness of the world around him that came with his release from that pod to his less than stellar introduction to Rouge and E123-Omega. At least, he'd would say introduction to the larger Eggman robot. The bat…he admitted, whilst he was unaware of whom she was at the time, let alone what her name even was, once he had been made aware of the possibility of the awakened machine firing at her, he found himself immediately leaping forward and getting her out of the range of fire being unleashed. Even now, he tried to reason that it wasn't simply a maneuver solely based on how the logical outcome would've been unfavorable for her, thus, he made sure that such a possibility had a less likely chance to occur. A less likely chance for someone he supposedly had never seen to avoid potentially being riddled with gunfire.

"We're already well aware of this. As well as the confrontation you three had in Grand Metropolis and the Lost Jungle. As well as putting a stop to Metal Sonic's campaign to take over Eggman's beginning invasion." The Commander confirmed. "As well as Agent Rouge's suspicions as to whether or not you were indeed the 'Shadow' she had seen not but a short time ago."

Wait a moment…agent?

"I trust she didn't tell you mainly because we wouldn't allow it. See, her finding you wasn't entirely due to her wishing to potentially find some sort of buried treasure. After the scare we all had involving Gerald's doomsday program and the good Doctor's role in activating said program, we made sure to keep tabs on him and his more recent activities. The incident with Metal Sonic's takeover was something of an unanticipated turn of events."

"Wait, wait a minute." Shadow interjected. "You're throwing all of this at me at once. Since when has Rouge worked with you people, and the Professor- "

"I'll get to that in a minute. I got off topic a bit, yet I mentioned it in case you were wondering where she was during all of this." The Commander clarified. "Which was protecting one of our bases stationed near some ruins located in a jungle not too far off from Glyphic Canyon."

Shadow braced himself, the very mention of that particular place was enough of an indicator for what was to come.

"Yet we're not here to talk about her and her services to us. So, let's truly get down to business." The older human folded his gloved hands over one another, elbows resting on the table. "When the Black Arms first arrived, what happened that drove you to go into the city and begin searching for the Chaos Emeralds?"

No way out now.

With little option to do much else, Shadow began relaying what had occurred that fateful sunset not but a few days ago. Where he had been, what he was pondering during that time (Maria…) his reaction to the sudden change of the skies above and the otherworldly beings seemingly pouring out from them. And ultimately, what had even got him to entertain the option of even listening to anything Black Doom had to say.

"So, what you're saying is that he showed you your memories?" Commander Tower questioned, Shadow not necessarily agreeing with him, yet he didn't suggest he was entirely wrong either.

"It was more than that." The hedgehog stated, his palm coming to his temple. "He said that I didn't remember it, even before the sealing in that pod." Of which the being knew of as well, yet he wasn't sure whether or not to alert the older human of that just yet. Or perhaps at all. "It was almost as if he could reach in past just base memories. As if he could have access to my very subconscious, to parts and events buried so deep that I possibly would've gone without ever knowing they had once occurred."

"And he did this simply by making physical contact with you?"

There was a little more to it than that, yet at the time, Shadow had believed that to be the case. From what he could see, the uniformed leader of GUN was caught in between a state of caution and awe, apparently not even believing such a thing to be possible. Then again, he had believed in that horned devil all his life, so if anything, such a 'power' as this only further confirmed his initial conviction of the hedgehog's potential involvement. As well as what was told to him via troops that had been stationed in Westopolis.

"And this convinced you that it was worth it." Shadow's focus immediately went to him, said human's fingers beginning to curl in rising anger. "Whatever he had to offer you was worth not minding or paying attention to the destruction being waged on the city or however many people those creatures could've-"

"There were no civilians in the area that I was aware of."

"Really? That's your justification?" the silver haired man scoffed. "That's your grand defense as to why you simply went on by while an entire city full of people, people we were still in the process of evacuating in areas those creatures didn't reach yet, nearly burnt to the ground?"

"It's not as if I was aware that so much destruction was going to be brought on by them!"

"And yet you still ignored all of that and went on your little treasure hunt! Not to mention you sent an entire squad flying with that 'blast' or whatever it was-"

"That wasn't intentional!"

"Then enlighten me! What about your actions was intentional and what was just an accident?! I suppose you nearly blasting Sonic was also an accident?!"

" **NO ONE WAS TELLING ME ANYTHING!"**

While not as emotionally charged as his former outburst, it was clear that Shadow had finally reached his limit regarding the Commander's ongoing string of condemnations.

"Ever since I emerged from that pod, I kept asking Eggman every chance I got. We tracked him from Seaside Hill all the way to the Egg Fleet itself! But nothing! No one seemed willing to tell me, let alone even look me in the eye! Not even Rouge seemed too comfortable in my presence!" he took in long, heavy breathes, his teeth grinding together while his hands balled themselves into fists. "Even Sonic, when we encountered him, he seemed completely taken aback. It was as if he and those with him had just seen a ghost." Ghost…not so much the thought, yet the word itself made him quite uncomfortable. The area they had been forced to travel through next didn't help matters much. Nor did the discovery of all those androids aboard the Egg Fleet. Androids that bore an uncanny resemblance to him.

Then again, androids didn't have heartbeats or pulses, so surely Rouge could at least see that. So why? Why did she seem to want to avoid anything relating to that altogether?

"Well, that doesn't exactly surprise me." Shadow's ears perked up at the human's words. "She was, after all, following orders."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's like you said. Those androids Eggman constructed? Surely you didn't think that such a thing would've escaped us. We operate as mandated reporters."

"…and surely she knows that I'm-"

"No, no, she's more than aware that your very much an organic being." The human clarified. "Though that didn't exactly confirm, let alone solidify your identity."

What? What in the world was he getting at?

"But I'm getting off track again, let's go back to the current subject." The hedgehog didn't appear too willing to simply do that. "It'll be addressed. For now, I want to know what happened as of a few days ago. Such as you blasting my men hallway across the city."

"…same reason as what happened on the Ark. I thought that they were going to…" he paused for a moment. "Either way, it certainly didn't help matters that they had gone and fired at me first. Though, of course, I'd assume you have a 'reason' for this too."

"Indeed I do. And lucky for both of us, it ties into the boundaries given to Agent Rouge involving contact with you." The Commander didn't exactly look it, his face seemingly unable to display extremes in any sort of emotion, yet traits of them still came through. And despite how he would've denied it, Shadow could practically feel that he was quite satisfied to have the upper hand (assumedly) in this. "But as you were saying: you blasting my men and nearly blasting Sonic as well was an accident. What then?"

Disregarding the human's general attitude towards him (he would have to for now), Shadow continued on detailing what had occurred. How even before that, he had come across some 'extension' of Black Doom's consciousness, his 'Eye' as he called it, as well as what had occurred after obtaining the first Chaos Emerald. The creatures had tried to take it from him, of which he refused to let them have it, thus, when he had found the second of the two stones in the city, the subsequent theft of them made much more sense in retrospect, given he now knew Doom's true intentions.

"Well then," the older head of GUN began. "I suppose Black Doom is whom I have to thank for getting those ruins to rise up, is that what you're saying?"

If only it were that simple. Shadow bit his lip. How in the world was he going to make any of what happened make any sort of sense? True, he knew the reason for it now (knew didn't necessarily mean liked, let alone openly acknowledge), yet even now, it still sounded just as bizarre and, well, alien. So ultimately, he simply described it just as how he experienced it.

"I was aware that something had changed. Some…part of me, or maybe all of me had been consumed or hijacked by some outside influence I couldn't place, yet somehow recognized as if I had known it all my life."

It was incriminating, and from how the man before him reacted to his explanation of Westopolis, Shadow doubted he would've simply accepted this either. Surprisingly enough, though, he seemed to be listening attentively. And even more, he appeared receptive of the information being delivered to him. As if it had fallen in line with what he had already knew, or even more, believed about the coal black hedgehog.

"It wasn't normal, let alone right, yet in that brief amount of time…I found that I didn't care. That someone else would be doing all the difficult stuff for me."

The Commander nodded, Shadow not exactly certain, yet he could've sworn he saw a glint of something in his eyes. Tension, anticipation, perhaps fear? Or maybe even a sense of terrible comprehension. "So, you believe you were, what, take over by him? Possessed?"

Possessed? No, no, he wouldn't say that. It wasn't as if he were rendered completely unaware of his surroundings, let alone what he was doing. It's just that…well…it just seemed that any and all perceived notions of touching the stones possibly not being a good idea were simply swept to the side. As if he had just suddenly become more open and willing to listen to what he would've initially dismissed. Influenced was perhaps a better term for it. Possessed…that just made it sound as if he had gone past a point of no return.

After the rising of the temple and subsequent escape from a rageful echidna, he had found himself traversing through a massive castle in search of a young rabbit with an Amy Rose. The Commander was rather surprised at how Shadow was so willing to assist the pink hedgehog, yet he brushed the comment off. Besides, compared to the one she continuously pined for, she was definitely the more tolerable of the two.

'I beg you!'

He then told of how he had then went in search of Eggman, of whom he found (in part), mainly due to Black Doom outright kidnapping him and bringing him to the then flying fortress (of which he activated, the Commander had oh-so-kindly reminded him). Which then lead into how the two essentially collaborated together to take the fortress down, something of which the human reacted oddly to. Not in the sense that it made him angry, rather, it seemed that such a thing wasn't anything shocking to him. Dare Shadow say, it was as if it was something he was familiar with. Of course, after the task was done, Eggman backed out in the end, resulting in Shadow taking it upon himself to traverse to his base in the Iron Jungle himself.

"Which is where Sonic met you." Commander Tower interjected, Shadow nodding in turn. "And where you all decided to come to the Ark."

"And where you and I had 'introduced' ourselves." The hedgehog added in. As far as he was concerned, they were both free game at this point.

"Which in turn," the human said back, seemingly brushing off the insult, yet it was clear he was more than a little perturbed by it. "Lead to you two eventually fighting and subsequently defeating Black Doom."

"As well as destroying the comet." Shadow finished. "There. I've given you want you've wanted, now if you'd- "

"I didn't say anything about that being the end." Tower interrupted. "You gave your piece, now here's mine."

What? No, no he said that he would-

"I think I figured out the perfect comparison for you." The human leader continued. "You're like a guy who decides to set up and activate bombs in a place where there's hundreds of people. But then, he realizes 'Hey! Why did I do that? They'll all be killed!' So, he goes and tries to defuse them all, yet no matter how many or how little he manages to get to, some of them go off, taking some unlucky people with them." Shadow parted his lips to speak, yet the Commander beat him to it. "Now tell me, is this man a hero? Is he someone to be admired? Rewarded for his services and putting his life on the line? Or is he, no matter how hard he tried to remedy the situation, responsible for the unfortunate few that were killed or nearly killed by his own actions?"

A moment of silence followed, indicating he was allowing Shadow to speak. "I had no intention in killing anyone. I was just after the Emeralds at first."

"When you could've realized that these beings didn't have the best interests for us. That several people could've been hurt. But no, that didn't matter to you. All you wanted was a shiny little stone." The human went on. "And whether it was in your control or not, the ruins still rose. That could've led to yet another repeat of Westopolis happening elsewhere with even more civilians. And even with you taking it down, they had come to the Ark because their airborne advantage had been taken away." He leaned forward. "It was due to you and Sonic that all of us are still here, but I can't help but wonder: if Black Doom had delivered on his promises, would you have been by his side?" Shadow was near boiling at this point, having just about enough of hearing this old man spout on and on as if he knew him better than he knew himself. "And before you say anything," he then pulled out a rectangular object from his coat, small, yet with a large enough screen for clear visibility. Though instead of immediately making use of it, he set it down on the table. "Bear in mind, I don't say this out of any sort of reservations I may or may not have."

'Highly doubtful.' Shadow thought.

"We, as an organization, are dedicated to the protection and preservation of the country, as well as other areas of the world. Hence the name, 'Guardian Units of Nations'. And yes, while your efforts, as well as Sonic's in bringing down Black Doom were successful, as ones who hold this country's security as its top priority, we cannot simply glance over the damage that has been done. Including damage that you've both did nothing to stop or contributed to."

Shadow was silent, saying nothing, the Commander in turn continuing on.

"Whether you had intended to or not, the fact remains that a city is in shambles. And people, good people, people that were the best at what they did and were nothing short of absolute saints, were slain by those creatures."

His mouth parted to speak, words dancing, readying themselves to leap off of his tongue, yet the black hedgehog found himself robbed of words. He…he didn't intend for any of that to occur. All he wanted was answers. Answers no one was willing to give. He didn't intend that…that people would be…

'Give them a chance to be happy.'

He forced it all back. He had to. If not just for his own state of mind. He was beginning to lose himself to emotion. To lose control. To lose reason. Yet what this human was telling him…frankly, he couldn't deny that, his own goals and intended outcome notwithstanding, there had been quite a bit of damage done. Damage that he had gone and rectified, yet still, some of it lingered on.

"Now, I've said my piece." Commander Tower stated, the device he had set down being picked up. "So therefore, it's your turn. What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Shadow simply said. "Everything that he promised, but never delivered. Not in full anyway."

The silver haired man sighed, glancing away for a moment, then back to the device in his hands. "I can't promise 'everything'." He told him. "But what I can do," he pressed a button on the side, the screen lighting up. "Is show how you got us to put one of the nation's heroes in prison."

The Commander navigated his way through the files until he found what he was looking for. Dated not but months prior, the feed played and he presented it to Shadow, watching as the hedgehog's ruby eyes widened at what he was viewing.

"That…that's me."

"Yep. And we're just getting started."

 **A few days later**

 **Aboard the Ark**

'…my revenge against humanity…for taking my dearest Maria away from me…'

Those words from the video log echoed in his mind as he gazed out at the planet below, it seeming to be further away than before. Then again, given what it had been put through, a simple difference in distance was one of the lesser consequences of that particular battle.

Shadow continued to look down at the blue planet in silence, his mind however buzzing and reviewing the onslaught of information that had, at last, come to him.

Not all of it good.

'They kept him prisoner.' The Ultimate Lifeform mused. 'They claim to be for the protection of their nation, yet they kept the Professor locked up like a caged animal. Breaking down his spirit with each passing day, forcing him to work for them…' he learnt of all of it.

He had learnt of all that the Commander was 'at liberty to say' at least. An abridged account of Project Shadow and its intentions, the subsequent failure of a creature that had, surprisingly enough, once dwelt here in the very heart of the ship, which in turn, assumedly, lead to Professor Robotnik striking a bargain with Black Doom.

'There…no. There was something more to it than that. How would he have known, let alone agree to collaborate with Doom of all things?'

And as Black Doom had relayed to him, the Ark had eventually undergone investigation, which in turn lead to its shutdown, as well as the termination or subsequent imprisonment of those aboard. And then to Gerald's own imprisonment, as well as Shadow's.

'Maria…she pushed me in a pod. She pulled the lever, then…'

The next set of events…well, unfortunately, no one, especially him, would ever be able to get that back. Upon his capture and forced labor (not to mention the outright lies GUN spewed forward about the Ark having suffered a tragic 'accident'), the Professor had seemingly taken it upon himself to do some…fine-tuning to the ship's systems, as well as the two living specimens created for Project Shadow.

At least that gave him something of a reason as to why Rouge was reluctant to bring anything up. If the Professor did all of this, creating new forms of life and hiding away a doomsday program, who was to say that maybe there was another supposed 'Ultimate Lifeform' lying around somewhere that hadn't been uncovered yet? And even more, given the now revealed relation between the Doctor and Professor, even if the former's main specialty was machines, maybe he had grown curious in more 'biological' manners of construction. Doubtful to a degree, yes, but given what he knew now, it was still a possibility that GUN considered, leaving nothing to chance or dismissing any possible explanation.

After all, he wasn't supposed to even be here.

'Mind you,' he remembered the Commander saying. 'The cameras you've surely seen all over, they were a later addition. True, they were around even then, as Gerald was always something of a paranoid man. Yet there weren't as numerous or spread out. And even then, he had access to the entire system. My theory is that he did most of his work, the work we didn't find out until it was too late, out of sight.'

It also didn't help that, when Eggman had taken over and made use of the Eclipse Cannon by blowing the moon in half, he had disabled most, if not all connections the Ark's systems had with the Earth, including delivering feed from the cameras.

Though what GUN had managed to recover, as well as what he had been shown during questioning… even now, Shadow still found himself flabbergasted. At what? What wasn't he, that was the shorter answer.

He had worked, no, outright collaborated with Eggman?! Not in some temporary alliance or necessity to bring down some larger enemy, but as an ally? And even more, it was through him that he had been released the first time, which was in itself another fact he was baffled by.

'…you got us to put one of the nation's heroes in prison.'

How exactly THAT happened…frankly, Shadow felt that was more of a case of poor depth perception or outright being color blind. Honestly, true he and Sonic bore some similarities, yet surely someone had to have seen that blue was quite a different color to black. And said black one sported red streaks along his fanned out quills. Of course, the fact remained that someone else was wrongfully perused and imprisoned for his crimes. Whatever he own stance on Sonic was mattered not, the simple truth was that he was wrongfully accused. He was innocent, whilst Shadow was guilty.

'Guilty…'

'Do you know how fortunate we all are that the cannon blasted the part of the moon that never faces the Earth?' he remembered the Commander telling him. 'Do you have the slightest inkling of what even minor damage to the moon could mean for us all? Even after you two stopped the ship, we were all waiting with bated breath to whether or not entire cities were going to be flooded!'

The hedgehog's teeth began to bite down on his lower lip.

'And don't think that Eggman being the one to fire negates your role in it. Had it not been for your acquiring the Chaos Emeralds with him, he wouldn't have had the means to even accomplish such a thing. In fact, if we were just going by that event alone, you would be nothing short of a global terrorist.'

Shadow placed a gloved hand on the viewing glass before him, the sight of the halved moon only further driving the point home that, despite his initial instinct to outright call such a claim absurd, there was no chance he could now. The results were right there.

'Five could destroy a city.' The leader of GUN had told him. 'Six…well, you know that already. And seven…well, that's something everyone knows now.'

It was then that he was shown the video log: a disheveled, broken man tied to a chair with chains, head cast down and eyes hidden behind a pair of thick, darkly colored spectacles. His cell covered with markings etched and carved into the walls, a single light shining down on his still, unmoving form. A far cry from the photo he had been shown of the Professor and Maria.

'Bear in mind, I don't support any of what we had done.' The silver haired human clarified, Shadow more than surprised at such a statement coming from him, yet strangely enough, it certainly sounded genuine. 'If anything, I'm glad that the truth is out now. Not for me…but for my family. For her.'

Yet if that were the case, why did the man even become a part of GUN in the first place? Especially when both of them had been…Shadow brushed the possibility away. No, absolutely not. The human had already made his stance on where he stood, and so had he. GUN had been the one to incite such a catastrophe, and thus, along with many other things done to him recently by the same organization, they were to not be trusted.

'And you are?' he remembered Tower telling him. 'I made that comparison before to relate to your more recent actions. Mainly because there's proof. Yet while almost everyone involved provided us with their account on what occurred up there, there's still some gaping holes that need to be filled.'

"Hey."

The Ultimate Lifeform's ears stood straight up, the suddenness of and close proximity of the voice's owner actually managing to spook him. Though upon turning away from the window to identify who else was aboard, any sort of tension that had been generated immediately dissipated.

"Oh. It's just you."

Bathed in the light of the glimmering stars outside, the Fastest Thing Alive made his way closer to Shadow, a diamond-cut stone of white causally being tossed up and down in one hand. And a curious set of bandages wrapped around his chest. "Well, nice to see you too." Sonic chuckled. "Always Mr. Sunshine I see."

"And you're always a pest."

The blue hedgehog simply shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, it's a natural talent. Course, all in the eyes of the beholder."

Shadow sighed. He wasn't exactly expecting, nor wanting any company today. Especially here of all places. "What are you doing here?"

"What?" Sonic questioned. "Am I suddenly not allowed to wonder how certain people I know are doing? If maybe they've possibly had a bit of a rough time recently and may need some checking up on?" he shrugged again. "Or not. But still, better nothing than something, am I right?"

The other hedgehog didn't respond at first, going back to gazing out the window, Sonic in turn seeming to do the same. Even after remaining silent for a good minute or two, it became clear that Shadow wasn't going to obtain any solitude until the other speedster's wants were met. Or at least was persuaded to leave him be. "I am fine." Shadow told him plainly. "No concern necessary." He then gestured towards the wraps. "Though you seem to not be. What happened?"

Sonic's expression soured. "Apparently, your- "he paused for a moment. "Doom squeezed me a little too hard. Some of these here broke, and, well, until they get better, Tails is making me wear these." He explained, the bandages covering the upper portion of his rib-cage, wrapping around his shoulders and under his arms. "Which also means no high-speed treks through the country or anywhere else. It's driving me crazy!"

"So, coming up here was a last-minute attempt to try and state your unquenching boredom?"

Sonic was about to protest, yet upon considering Shadow's words, he found himself, begrudgingly, left speechless. Shadow in turn found himself releasing a light chuckle at that, something of which he was just as surprised about as Sonic, yet it didn't take long for him to revert himself back to his usual self.

Or as usual as he could manage. With what he knew now, his 'usual' might've not been his 'usual' from before. If it had, maybe he would've have been so tolerant of whom was here next to him.

'…you got us to put one of the nation's heroes in prison.'

Shadow shifted his eyes, the blue caught in the corner momentarily forcing him to direct his attention elsewhere. "So…" he had no idea what he was doing. What was he doing, asking him something so obvious? "Anything else?"

Sonic's ears perked up, surprised that Shadow had been the one to initiate a conversation. "Huh?"

"Injuries." Shadow clarified. "Was there anything else?"

"Ohhhh," the blue hedgehog grinned. "You DO care…"

Shadow huffed. "I'd-" 'rather die.' Was what nearly fell from his lips, yet a cold chill overcame him upon such a thing being considered. Of course, he didn't mean it, yet…it just felt…wrong. "Nothing. Forget it." He settled in saying, retracting his formerly incomplete response.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too, Shads." This earned Sonic an exasperated glare mixed with a bit of shock. "Not like that, man! It's just an expression! Geez…never thought I'd see it, but I think even Knuckles has a better grasp of that stuff than you do sometimes."

Shadow rolled his eyes and turned back to observing the Earth, Sonic in turn doing the same not long after. Unfortunately though, it seemed that when the latter had spoke of his unrelenting boredom, he didn't seem to be exaggerating, immediately beginning yet another conversation.

"This place is even quieter than down below. They still not get the power back on?"

"…not exactly." The other hedgehog answered. "Our battle caused the Ark quite a bit of damage, of which hasn't entirely been rectified yet. They're working from the most external to the most internal, as in installing new windows where the last ones were shattered and whatnot."

What had come next, however, actually managed to snag Shadow's attention.

"Course it'll probably get back to normal soon. When the signs and crowds beginning coming, I'll probably have to hang away for a while."

"Signs?" the ebony hedgehog questioned, having no idea what Sonic was even talking about.

"You don't know?" Sonic asked, surprised. "It's…" he suddenly began to grow tense, as if he were trying to dance around something uncomfortable. "It's kind of a more recent thing, but ever since the…well…the whole…you know, assuming the Commander told you-"

"Yes." Shadow confirmed, speaking far faster than Sonic, wishing to get it out of the way as soon as possible. "He's told me about…that."

He didn't sound too entirely sure, yet nevertheless, Sonic continued on. "Well, after all that, let's just say that a good amount of people weren't exactly happy. And some of those people," some, yeah right. Practically entire cities was more like it. "Took it upon themselves to make their dissatisfaction known."

"The old man had made mention of 'them'." The other hedgehog confirmed. "How once the Arms were dealt with, they'd begin gathering again."

"Yeah." Sonic groaned. "I've made it clear to them that they and I have no business with each other, but I think everyone's beginning to tire of all the screeching and demanding. Kind of ironic that they decided to take a day off for the 'Fire in the Sky'."

Ironic indeed. Though the behavior of these disgruntled humans didn't interest him. No, rather, what had managed to hook and draw in his fascination was perhaps the one thing Shadow should've asked from the beginning.

'…you got us to put one of the nation's heroes in prison.'

"…"

"Shadow?"

"…"

"You want to say something. Just spit it out."

"…how long?"

"How long what?"

"How long were you in prison?"

"Prison? What…oh." Sonic needn't ask what he was referring to. Though, honestly, he would've preferred if it had never been brought up at all. "Not too long, if you're wondering. I mean, I think they realized pretty quick that no cage can keep me!"

Shadow didn't tear his gaze away from the window. While Sonic couldn't have been sure, he could've sworn that the other hedgehog was intentionally avoiding eye contact with him.

"…gize."

"Huh?" he had said something, albeit barely heard.

"…poligze."

"Can't hear you, Shads. Speak up."

"I.." Shadow began, pausing for a moment, a light tremble overtaking him before settling down once again. "I thought just as much." 'I apologize.' "If Doom sending you out in the vacuum of space didn't kill you, a bunch of idiots like that lot wouldn't even know what to do with you." 'Not that it'd do any good now. The damage has already been done.' He hadn't realized it at first, yet the darker colored lifeform had steadily begun moving away from his younger rival. "Rouge's delivered to me what had happened from our end."

"Oh? And what'd she say?"

"Essentially what the Commander himself had told me. That I was awakened by the Doctor, who wished to gain access to me and the Eclipse Cannon. She went in as a spy to keep tabs on his progress. As well as do a little searching for shards of the Master Emerald."

Sonic chuckled. "Well, that definitely SOUNDS like Rouge."

Shadow nodded in agreement, though he still kept his eyes off the other hedgehog, still focusing in on the Earth. 'I can't say for sure, as ultimately, there's no proof of it.' The older human's voice echoed throughout his mind, the Ultimate Lifeform placing a gloved hand on the window. 'And from what we gathered, everyone, save for the good Doctor himself, has testified that you were nothing short of a hero that day. However, there's still one thing that bothers me.'

"She…" Shadow began. "She kept mentioning this particular event that occurred somewhere. Prison Island, I think she said it was. Island with a prison…and a jungle. A jungle where he…'You compare yourself to me? You're not worthy to be my fake!' "How I supposedly saved her life. I think she was exaggerating, but she kept saying it over and over. Even when she went over what happened afterward, she still kept saying over and over that I had saved her life."

Sonic didn't say a word, simply allowing the other hedgehog to keep talking. Perhaps this meant he wouldn't have to say anything about it. After all, how does one tell someone else that they had nearly…

"And when Eggman activated the Biohazard…you and I…we fought this behemoth lizard-like creature that had attached itself to the ship. How it did such a thing baffles me, but still, it must've happened." Shadow attested. "Otherwise, she would've told me all of this sooner."

Sonic bit his lip hard. He wasn't looking forward to what was coming next, yet the sooner he got it out the better. It wasn't as if he had to dwell over it once it got out, right? "We…we didn't know whether or not it was really you." The blue hedgehog confessed. "I mean…how could it be? Ultimate or not…I doubt anyone's invincible."

"I'll admit," Shadow suddenly said. "It's not much. Just the beginning, but when Doom and I were falling to Mars…" the hand placed on the window began to stiffen, fingers curling. "It burned. Everywhere. It just burned. Yet then…" his hand relaxed. "It was cool. There was still pain and burning. But…it wasn't all around me anymore." His other hand came to his temple, another dull ache beginning to assault the tender area. "If it hadn't been for you…I may have been…" he sighed. Even with all things considered, sometimes he found his own pride wouldn't allow him such simple things.

"You're welcome." Sonic interrupted. "I'll save you the trouble." He gave a coy smile. "Granted, this means you owe me a full-on 'thank you' next time."

"Who says there'll be a next time?" Shadow responded, equally as coy, yet with a sliver of a challenging tone in his voice. "If there is, it's going to be for you."

"There's ALWAYS a next time, Shads. It's just the 'when' that catches you off guard."

Perhaps the blue pest coming here wasn't such a curse after all. Granted, he would still need time to himself, yet the black hedgehog couldn't deny that Sonic's presence was providing him with some, apparently needed, relief. Only some though, as though not of his own choosing, his mind wrought forth more of the conversation he had but a short time ago, the sight of the silver haired, uniformed man in a chair opposite of him coming to the forefront.

'Eggman's schemes have always been based on world domination. As in, taking over the world. Thus, and everyone else agrees on this: he didn't activate the Biohazard on purpose.'

He needed to do it, and he needed to do it now. Before the blue one had decided to go and try relieve his boredom elsewhere.

'Use the cannon to blast anything that opposed him. Oh yeah, that's right up his ally. But causing the Ark to barrel towards the very planet he's trying to take over, of which would take him and everyone else on board with the Earth? I don't think I need to tell you how ridiculous and asinine that sounds.'

"Sonic?"

'I'm not accusing you or anyone of anything. I'm just stating how bizarre the whole scenario sounds.'

"Yeah, what?"

'Not to mention, convenient.'

"What…else happened?"

'After all, if you lost your memory, and it's pretty clear you have,'

"What do you mean? I thought Rouge had- "

"No, that's not what I meant."

'And no one else has much of an idea either, unless some of them are lying,'

"What I mean is…"

'Who knows whether or not triggering such a thing was intentional or not?'

"Was there anything else that I had done?"

He hadn't been looking. He hadn't directed his attention towards him, at least not yet. And thank God for that, for in that brief instance, all color flowed from Sonic's features, his normally hot blood and even hotter attitude consumed by a thick sheen of solid ice. "Wh-What do you mean?"

What in the world, Shadow thought. Was he stammering? He, of all people? Still, he continued. "As in, something Rouge or that human leader might've left out. Or something that no one is saying."

'Who knows…'

Sonic had said nothing, his green eyes trying not to shift too much, yet it was obvious he was beginning to grow uncomfortable.

'Whether or not…'

"Well?"

'…was intentional?'

He parted his lips to speak, seeing in Shadow's eyes a great hunger, though it was not one laced with aggression. Rather, to be honest, it looked somewhat pitiful. As if he were simply asking, begging for the truth. Something, anything! Still, Sonic had his doubts. And to a degree, how could he not? "Let me ask you something, Shadow." He finally began. "What did you promise Maria?"

The Ultimate Lifeform was puzzled. "What in the world does that have to do with- "

"Just tell me. What did you promise Maria?"

"…to give the inhabitants of that planet a chance to be…happy. And to protect and preserve it." He answered, his gloved hand running over where the Earth's reflection was on the glass.

"And in being with me and defeating the Biolizard and now Black Doom…would you say you've kept that promise?"

'Intentional…'

"Hello?" Sonic asked again. "Do you think you've kept that promise?"

Shadow pondered for a moment. Logically speaking…yes. Yes, he had. And yet…why was there this twinge of reluctance that came with such a declaration?

"Do you?"

"Well…yes. But- "

"Then that's all you need." Sonic abruptly cut him off. "You have, and I assume that you'll keep on doing it. Public relations and personal interests aside."

Shadow was about to say more, yet to his surprise, he found Sonic moving away from the window and towards the room's exit. "What…where are you going?"

He didn't show it, yet he couldn't help but wince when the darker hedgehog called out for him. "I told you, I'm trying to keep myself from dying of boredom." He answered. "And in case you haven't noticed, there isn't much to do here aside from look out of a bunch of windows."

"You didn't answer my question!" Shadow protested, immediately leaving his spot and making his way towards Sonic. "Was there anything else that- "

"Does it matter?" Sonic suddenly spurted out, backing away from the other hedgehog. "Honestly, Shadow. Does any of that matter now? Look around you!" he gestured not only to the room both of them were in, yet also to the Earth below. "What bearing does what you can't entirely remember have on what's happening now? What good is constantly delving into it and overthinking little bits and pieces doing you?"

The Ultimate Lifeform began to protest, or rather, he wished he could. He wished he could muster up the appropriate words to argue for his want, his need to know everything, yet found himself running short on anything decent to say.

"The past doesn't mean anything, Shadow. 'Then' doesn't matter! Yeah, some things do, but they shouldn't be the absolute deciding factor of your life! It's 'now' that truly counts! And 'now', all you're doing is wasting the life you've been given staring out into space and trying to piece together what might never fully come back to you again!" Okay, he didn't exactly mean for it to come out like that, seeing the glare coming to Shadow's features, yet his point still remained the same. "I'm taking it slow for now because I have to. But when these come off," Sonic gestured to his bandages. "I'm going to live and take in everything the world can give me at that very moment. The question is: what are you going to do?" and with that, he held aloft the Emerald he possessed, and in a flash of light, vanished from the ship entirely.

Shadow was left alone, once again. Left alone with only his thoughts serving as the closest thing to 'noise' aboard this expansive, empty, once densely populated space colony. At least until he finally found his voice, even if there was no one around to hear it. "He's wrong." He openly declared. "I don't simply delve and think too hard about it because I WANT to! Who is HE to think that he can say such things!?" he growled, knowing well that Sonic could've been anywhere down below on that blue planet, his current anger and frustration probably the reason he had gone and made himself scarce. "It's there! I KNOW it's there! It's just not ALL there!"

'The past doesn't mean anything.'

"And…and there's something he's not saying. I know it!"

'It's 'now' that truly counts!'

"Yet when I try to think of it…it feels so…"

'Guilty…'

'And 'now', all you're doing…'

'Shadow, I beg you!'

"Her crying face…begging me as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did."

'…is wasting the life you've been given staring out into space…'

" Had I had done something? Something bad?"

'Intentional…'

"Something…evil?"

'…and trying to piece together what might never fully come back to you again!'

"GAH!" with a swing of his arm, his clenched fist made contact with the thickened glass before him, a reverberating echo sounding out throughout the entire room. His head came to rest against the window, eyes closed tight and brow furrowing intensely. Yet in a brief instance, the hedgehog found himself compelled with the desire to gaze down at the Earth again.

The planet 'she' had so adored.

And upon his ruby eyes seeing the sphere below him, its green patches of land that housed flora and fauna beyond count, its oceans that held even more, and the swirling, thickened clouds that coated and shielded them all from the elements outside its atmosphere, Shadow found that, despite his initial and fierce intentions not to even consider them, Sonic's words began to penetrate his thoughts.

He still held the same desire as before, if not just for his sake, but to at least remember more of 'her', yet still…what was sitting up here doing him? Truthfully, what was he accomplishing? Was being up here allowing him to trigger the remembrance of anything else, good or bad? True, coming here whenever he needed someplace to get away had become essential in the last few days, yet he couldn't simply live up here. In a literal sense, yes, but what would it do him?

"Nothing." He answered himself. "Absolutely nothing."

He looked down at the lone Emerald that had brought him here, the starry abyss outside reflecting in its perfectly crafted, green surface. Leaning down to seize the jewel, Shadow glanced at it, then back to the Earth. To it, then to the Earth. This pattern repeated itself for a good while until the Ultimate Lifeform, albeit somewhat hesitantly, made his decision. The results of said decision being represented in a flash of light, leaving nothing, hedgehog or Emerald, behind.

The Ark had once again, become completely un-inhabited.

Though such a thing wouldn't last.

Nor would the peace that had been bestowed to the blue planet below.

Soon…changes would be occurring.

Changes in the land, the oceans, the stars. Changes small and miniscule at first, yet with time, would present the dismal and potentially unavoidable future for all that dwelt on Earth.

And with these changes, the Ultimate Lifeform himself would be subject to a transformation of his own. In body, mind, and spirit, corruption would seep in and challenge all that made him himself. His identity, his relations, even his own dedication to whom he had sworn his life to would be put to the ultimate test.

As would the fates of all those that knew him.

Yet in this trial, unavoidable as unpleasant discoveries and covered up truths were, one choice would determine the world's fate.

Would it be saved from its inevitable doom, yet carry the scars of the damage received?

Or would it be rendered into a hollow shell of its former self, housing a new dominant species?

It has yet to be seen what the outcome shall be, but soon, it shall begin.

A change…a metamorphosis…both for the planet, and for a certain hedgehog.

A dark transformation that perhaps suits the one it has been 'bestowed' on.

A Black Convergence.

 **Note: Done! Finally! It's done! Well, not the story in itself, but the beginning's finally done! I am so, SO sorry for the long wait and months it took to get this out. Of course, now that I'm onto the main meat of this thing, that might be an even longer waiting period as I want to take my time with it and make sure everything is in check and how I want it. With that said, I would like to thank each and every one of you for sticking by me this long, and I hope to see you all again when the official 'Chapter 1' is put out so we can get this thing started!**


	13. Prelude-Metempsychosis

**Note: Hey guys! Been some time, hasn't it? Well, I've got a bit of a treat, albeit a small one. This is a double posting! Two updates at once! The reason for this is that, while this was all going to originally be in one chapter, I decided to split it up, as, despite the shorter length, I felt that it would make things flow better. Plus, it lets me truly start things in a more dramatic manner. That said, here's hoping you forgive me, and that I satisfy you with this true start to the story!  
**

 ** **Prelude: Metempsychosis****

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

The reaction was immediate, even for himself.

The destruction of the Black Comet was one thing, yet this…had he not been blessed with his own mind, the sheer force that assaulted his body would've surely killed him at that very moment.

Black Death fell to the cold, hardened flooring of the Blodex ship, his entire body completely sapped of its former strength, the tails of his robes spreading out behind him. It did him little good, yet he found himself beginning to dry heave, caught in a limbo between either regurgitating everything in his stomach(s) or to join the agonized chorus of sorrowful, pain-riddled screams that echoed throughout the ship.

They had lost. They had lost everything.

The comet, the mission…their Breeder…everything.

It did little to ease his own condition, yet Death knew it couldn't be helped. They had only been saved by the transferring from Black Doom to him. And they were only just enough, nothing compared to the numbers of their fellow siblings that traveled to Earth or resided on the comet. They were but a sliver of the general population of the Black Arms.

The last.

And if not for that…frankly, Black Death would've been…well…

'Relieved.'

'Fearful.'

…truthfully…

'Elated.'

'Distraught.'

…he didn't know.

'Finally, free.'

Free? No. No…no, he…he was in no way free. Even in this state of being flung back and forth between one extreme and the other, Death had enough of a sound mind to know that, if anything, he and his fellow Arms were essentially on their way towards extinction. The hooded figure couldn't step into his leader's place. He couldn't take the helm and make due with what he was left with.

'Not by my own choosing.' He mused, placing a hand over his thin abdomen. 'Despite my own birth signifying the arrival of another future generation, it was not meant to be.'

He couldn't do it, even if he wished to. Even if he gave up every fiber of his being to do it, he knew it wouldn't change a thing. He knew it. And even more, Black Doom knew it.

'Oh, he did MORE than just know it. And he made it known to all of them. Even though he didn't need to.' Death scoffed, his arms wrapping around his robed form tight, a light shiver working its way up his spine. 'Then again…it was one of the few places on me that he never touched. What difference would it have made?'

What difference, he continued to muse. What difference…

Well, it now mattered even less than before. For now, all of them were sentenced to death! All of them would die off without him! They needed him! He...he paused. 'I need you.' Despite have no lower appendages, Black Death felt himself falling to where, had he possessed them, he would've been down on his knees. 'I don't know if I can do this...but I need you.'

Whether he liked it or not, whether he'd be better off or not...no. No, no, no, what was he thinking? They would all die if this wasn't done! The course to that planet had already been set, and there was no turning back now! Alert would undoubtedly be high, especially in light of what had just occurred, yet the hooded Arms and the leftover members of his parent's brood were left with no other choice.

He gazed at the small, motionless, multi-limbed creature lying flat on its 'back', the soft surface of a spare set of garments strewn out below it to serve as some form of bedding. The back of the Blodex ship had become it's…'his' quarters now, and no matter how many times Death came to check and see if he was still semi-present, the signals he received were little more than bare minimum. He was alive...but just technically. 'He won't last much longer. Eventually, his consciousness...what's left of it, will leave this body as well. Then...then there'll be no hope."

This journey, at first, Death considered it a fool's errand. He thought the entire ordeal that transpired with the discovery of that ship and that human's mad experiments were nothing short of madness. Yet none of that mattered now. This was the only way to avoid his eventual extinction, even if just for a bit longer.

'Go.' he reminisced, Black Doom's final words echoing throughout his mind, the last words he heard his (beloved?) Breeder speak before he went silent. 'They shall bring me back to you, my dearest Death.' Death reached out a single, clawed hand, lightly stroking one of the Eye's tendrils, a light shiver going up the appendage, a small sign of life from the thing. 'They will save us. They can do anything.'

* * *

'They can do anything.'

These words, even now, continued on as the small, multi-limbed sack of unmoving flesh was laid out in the ring of glimmering, colored stones, the Soldiers that had undergone the task in gathering on their hands and knees, Black Death able to sense the collective draw and need for the object inside the circle. Indeed, to an extent, they would want him back the most more than anyone. Only a handful of them were left, compared to the vast numbers that were present before,

'No thanks to you, Breeder.'

But now, their dwindling numbers mattered not. Now, the destruction of their home, their siblings, their dear parent, all of it would be mended now. All would be made right. Black Death knew such as well, these stones being the very thing that he had gone all this way for. And now, it was right in front of him. What he had strived for was RIGHT there!

So,

'I...don't know.'

Why then,

'I don't know if I…'

Did he find himself,

'Want you...back.'

Hesitating?

He...he didn't mean what he had just thought. He didn't mean anything that he had thought since he began his journey from Deimos. He needed this. They ALL needed this. They needed Breeder. He needed Breeder.

'Whether you want him or not…'

It had to be done. If not now, then soon. The Eye would not last much longer. Breeder...what was left of him, would soon pass if it was not done.

Clasping his three-digited hands together, Black Death joined in unison with the gathered soldiers, their own musings little more than signals and stimuli compared to the hooded figure's own, yet still, his wish was ultimately the same as theirs.

'Heal him. Bring him back to me. To us. I...we need him.'

The stones reacted.

From the emerald stationed to the north and traveling all the way down to the amethyst to the northwest of the circle, the jewels were consumed with a powerful, blinding light of each of their respective colors, Death and the gathered spawn tied to him recoiling from the intensity of it all. Even in a state such as this, his Breeder's testament to their power did not do them justice. His three eyes stung at their brilliance, the sensation of moisture developing coming to him as the lights continued on and on, until the darkness of their current location was completely bathed in the multicolored radiance of the stones.

Then, it stopped.

He had yet to even realize that it had stopped, Death having been forced to cover his eyes. Yet even before he realized, he could tell that something had changed. The soldiers...they had grown curious. And said curiosity evolved into awe, which then exploded into utmost elation. Trills and gurgling cries echoed throughout the entire area, their base and collective emotional states assaulting Death from all directions, he too beginning to lose himself to the uttermost joy and titillation. It was only when he finally looked did his eyes widen at what he saw. Or rather, what he didn't.

Gone.

The stones were gone.

The stones were gone...and yet, their respective glow began to emit from somewhere, from something just ahead of them. Something steadily lifting itself off the ground. And in that moment or realization, Black Death and all present felt something from within, some hidden, unseen, yet very well known part of themselves, something that had been lost since the slaying of their parent, turn back 'on'.

"My darlings…"

His voice was weak. Weak, and frail, but audible.

"...is that you?"

 **Black Convergence**

 **A Retelling and Semi-Sequel to Shadow the Hedgehog**


	14. Chapter 1-Proceed

**Note: Here it is! The TRUE chapter one! Sorry for the slower pace, yet things will be picking up from here. Honestly though, the reason that it's taken so long is that I've been both working and paranoid about how things will and should go, and if I can properly execute them. Given how this particular story has some personal ties to it, I'm a lot more antsy about this one than others, yet I'll admit I'm always a little paranoid about whether or not my work sucks, and that I just don't see it. That said, here's chapter one (for real)!  
**

 **Black Convergence**

 **Chapter 1: Proceed**

 **Four Months Prior**

A week...the silver haired man found himself unable to contain the chuckle in his throat at that.

A week since the world itself appeared to be made into just another feeding source for strange, dark skinned beings that fell from the stars. A week since he and his fellow men and women were either firing away at the continuous onslaughts of the invaders, only for more and more of them to keep coming. And then, for all of it to stop. No gradual transition, no indication that the alien forces had just up and decided to cease and desist or outright retreat, none of that. In fact, after a good hour or two after all of them had subsequently fallen over, un-moving, the man allowed the possibility of them just up and somehow dying to enter his head.

As soon as it had begun, it was over. It was all over. Anything and everything that horned demon had planned for the planet, the planet 'she' had loved so much, were put to a halt thanks to the efforts of parties outside of themselves, and the lives that had been lost were honored and provided proper burials. It was all right now. It was all right. He had done it. He had kept his promise to her.

...so why?

Why did it not feel as such?

Despite the size of the organization's main hub of operations, the Commander of GUN sat in the small, boxed in confines of his office, his duel colored eyes gazing upon the pages of a book detailing the function and properties of plant life, such as pollination and photosynthesis. 'Her favorite book.' Well, perhaps not her favorite, yet it the only one he had at his disposal, not that he would ever. 'May God strike me dead if I ever.' Of course, as he turned through the pages, Abraham Tower found himself pondering on just how many times he had read through this thing, let alone if he even read it at all? If one were to ask him, he would be honest in that he didn't consider himself an overly bright child, so he didn't really consider any of the blonde girl's reading material worth his time. Such things as 'the life cycle of plants' or 'the relation between predator and prey' were a bit too complex and, for lack of a better term, boring for him. If anything, that was one of the main reasons his parents saw fit to take him aboard the Ark in the first place, as his father said, 'it's not like he's going to be the next mathematician or leader of the country. Boy like that, he won't be anything great.'

Well...to an extent, it was only partially true.

And even then, he debated on whether or not the 'great' part had been filled, or if it would ever.

A wide scale invasion had been averted, and whilst loss in itself couldn't have been prevented, he knew well that it could've been far worse. In fact, whilst he would tell this to no one, Tower found himself quite surprised that the toll hadn't been more. Collateral damage had been minimal as well, as minimal as an event such as this could've potentially brought. Westopolis had been hit the hardest, yes, yet thankfully, a good majority of the civilian population had been safely escorted out of the city. Station Square and Central City had some Black Arm forces attempt to enter in their borders, yet after Westopolis, he was taking no chances, he and the President sending out troops to every major city in the country. If not for the abrupt ending to the invasion, the Commander wasn't sure of just how long GUN's efforts could last. Still, repairs were already beginning, and aside from Westopolis, no other major cities or establishments had been hit too hard. Glyphic Canyon's ruins made quite the impact when they landed, yes, but that was thankfully far from any living area. Somewhere near the border of the lower part of the country, the report had detailed.

The Black Arms in themselves were also, in a rather ironic way, being made use of on the very planet they…'he' tried to invade. True, there was the problem of their bodies practically being littered in various places and needing to be disposed of, yet a good portion of them were set to be shipped off to the Department of Science for study. Personally, Abraham would've seen fit to have each and every one of them gathered into a pile and set ablaze, yet given the origin of the creatures, the potential for discovery and delving into their unique biology proved to be enough of a reason to ship them off. 'Good ahead, guys.' the old man dismissively thought. 'Knock yourselves out playing doctor. Better yet, maybe you could put a few of them through a woodchipper and see if they're just as easy to cut up.'

Morbid? Perhaps, yet he cared not. For as many years as he had been dreading and preparing for them, for 'him', this was Abraham showing benevolence. As much as he could muster for the horrid alien spawn at least. It was far from the best situation, yet he acknowledged it could've been far worse. At the same time, however, it wasn't exactly ideal, even now. In fact, dare he say, even with the continuing annoyances of protests and low public opinion, he couldn't help but feel that things were, somehow, in someway, about to get worse.

RING RING!

"Hm?" his eyes glanced over to the phone on his desk, a gloved hand reaching for it and bringing the dark colored device to his ear. "Hello?"

"Oh good!" a voice on the other end sighed in relief, far younger and definitely more feminine than he. "I was worried whether or not I'd be able to catch you. In your free time, of course, sir."

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, not expecting, yet also not exactly appreciating what he was hearing.

"S-Sir?"

"You know the rules. I told you a hundred times already."

"Sir, all I meant to say was-"

"Unless it's an emergency, don't waste my or your time with calling me. Likelihood is that I'm in the middle of business." he paused for a moment. "So in this instance, consider yourself fortunate. Currently, it's quiet, yet given how much damage those things managed to do in only a few days, nobody's going to get a day off for some time now."

"...sorry to hear that, sir."

"Now then, what is it that you want?"

The female voice on the other end was silent for a moment or two, the hand holding the phone just about ready to place it back in its cradle before he heard her finally speak. "Sis's baby is doing great."

Abraham Tower's brow perked up somewhat at this, though only just enough. Should anyone have seen this, unless they were highly observant, they probably wouldn't have been able to see any sort of change. "Oh, is she?" he asked. "She hasn't said anything about them to me." indeed, this was true. In fact, if not for the one he was currently talking to, he wouldn't have probably known that he had just recently become a grandfather.

"Oh yeah, Melissa and Derek are still getting the hang of it." the voice assured. "Those creatures didn't do them any favors, especially for little Mary, but they're currently crashing at his parent's place in Central City until Westopolis gets back to normal."

"And I assume that you're with them?" Tower questioned.

"Actually, I just saw them. I just thought you'd like to know how they're doing."

He didn't answer.

"Anyway...Melissa said that maybe you could...I mean, if things aren't too hectic there...thanks for listening, by Commander."

"Bye."

With that, he hung up, his eyes trailing back to the pages of the book. 'Mary…' he mused. 'That name should've tipped me off.'

It was involuntary, and could he have prevented it, he would've in a heartbeat. Yet in that brief moment between his own inner voice and silence, another voice interjected. Young, soft, and beautiful. 'I like the name Marie.'

Then came his own. 'I...don't know. How about-'

'Mary?' she then asked, he shaking his head, as if reenacting the conversation that took place all those years ago. 'They're essentially the same. I've always loved the name. Mary, or Marie, or Maria-'

He shut the book, a low sigh escaping him.

It was over. It was all over. Yes, technically it had been accomplished by someone else. Someone that, truthfully, he still didn't have a high opinion of. Yet...it had been done. The threat was dealt with, and the planet, 'her' planet, had been saved. Everything was fine. Everything SHOULD'VE been fine.

Should've...yet it wasn't.

 **Space Colony Ark**

'While your contributions to saving the country, as well as the planet, have been taken into account, frankly, there are a slew of other events that we simply cannot ignore. For that reason, it's been decided that, while you're not under arrest, you will be on a rather tight leash until we see fit to loosen it.'

In other words, 'if we catch you doing something we don't like or approve of, get ready, cause we've REALLY got a reason to come after you now.'

Shadow scoffed at this, eyes trailing down to the blue sphere below. 'Hm.' he thought as he observed. 'Seems that Doom managed to move the ship a small bit further back.' Not that it mattered to him. As long as he had this green stone with him, neither that, nor any sort of security system they had placed here could dissuade him.

Being forbidden to come to the Ark was yet another limitation GUN had set on him, as, according to them, it was 'government property', and 'not a place to visit whenever you feel like it'. The coal black hedgehog grinded his teeth at that. If anyone had any sort of claim or right to this place, it was him! How dare they believe that they could keep him away! He sighed, his rage simmering down. It was useless to get so riled up about the useless band of grunts anyway. After all, it wasn't as if they were capable of stopping him, so even telling him such a thing was utterly useless on their part.

'Idiots.'

Nevertheless, their promise of keeping an eye on him, or rather, their Commander promising such, hadn't exactly made things better. If anything, even if they were powerless to stop him, they proved to be quite capable of causing trouble. And for now, maybe for a good while, Shadow wasn't too keen on attracting any more attention. Once he and Sonic arrived back on Earth and were released from GUN's questioning session, immediately, the media flew in, anxious to get the supposed 'scoop' on what had occured. To his embarrassment, it seemed that, for once, the blue pest had an advantage over himself, as he was far better at handling the clamoring group and hoards of eyes staring at them better than the Ultimate Lifeform. He outright booked it, and thankfully, for the most part, he had been left alone. Either they had gotten all they wanted from Sonic, or they had gotten the message that he was to be left alone.

'What are you doing here?'

Due to this, he had taken to mainly staying away from populated areas, specifically Westopolis, not that there were many that had come back yet, the city still in shambles. Yet he had allowed himself to get close enough without drawing too much attention. And indeed, some of the things Sonic spoke of but a couple of days ago were indeed true. Outside of the White House, a massive crowd had gathered, holding signs, banners, and a good deal of other sayings regarding how despicable and loathsome both GUN and the government were. Shadow did veer too close, yet from what he could hear, most of the banter had to do with how the organization had once again failed to protect them, how this recent happening still didn't change the fact that they were just as guilty as they had been before. The collective noise and yelling made the hedgehog's stomach churn, yet it was only when the 'death' of a 'little girl' aboard a 'ship' was mentioned did he leave.

It took him a good few hours in an isolated forest to finally work everything out of his system. And even then, it still didn't feel like enough.

Nothing felt like enough.

Even with all that happened, what he had been promised...what he felt like kicking himself over for even ENTERTAINING the notion Black Doom was perhaps being honest with him, when he analyzed it, what did he gain from it? What did he gain from anyone? Sonic, Rouge, heck, even those such as Knuckles or even Amy?

Nothing. He had gotten absolutely nothing.

True, he had known what he was, what he had been made for, and how he came to be on Earth...at least the first time, yet afterward, after this supposedly tumultuous battle with an abominable lizard...nothing. How he ended up in that capsule in Eggman's possession, nothing. How Black Doom even managed to somehow cohorse Gerald Robotnik to even collaborate with him, nothing. And that perhaps was one of the biggest questions he had. Forget the 'how' of it all, the most confusing factor of it was 'why'. From what Shadow had seen, the lying devil had more than enough 'children' to go around, so why go through such a bizarre method for him? Doom was many things, many of which he was regretful to not be able to properly express to the thieving monster himself, yet the alien had proved himself to be far from just doing things on a whim. Black Doom was one that held power, and he well knew it. But most of what Shadow had seen, even if the possibility of him simply doing what he wished because he could still stood as an option...no. No, there...there was something MORE to his actions.

'The past is the past.'

And there was more to his own. There HAD to be. He didn't even need the Commander's interrogation to go off of, both Sonic and Rouge's testimonies had the same holes in them. Yet...what was the alternative?

'It doesn't matter.'

Did it? Sure, the blue pest's words continued to linger with him, yet Shadow found himself still in conflict with them. Sometimes he found himself in perfect agreement with them, other times, he couldn't believe he actually found the moron's suggestion of use. Since Black Doom's defeat, Shadow found himself being drawn back to the Ark again and again, GUN's ban on him coming not even registering with him. No, whether they would believe it or not, he didn't come to spite them. Rather, he came because...he needed to remind himself that as long as that blue planet could be seen...everything was fine.

It...it didn't matter, maybe. It didn't matter, everything was fine. Everything was absolutely fine. Or as fine as things could be. In fact, he had, after searching time and time again, found what he had believed to be 'her' room. He couldn't remember what it looked like, where the bed was set, where all her books were, yet despite all this, there was this unmistakable 'draw' he felt towards the small, empty space. He laid down in the right side corner of the room, his eyes fluttering as if going to sleep, waiting for some sort of warm familiarity to pass over him and ignite things long forgotten.

It did not come. And it probably would never. Not by force, anyway.

He had told this to himself several times, racking up to at least a hundred or more. Yet with each resuscitation...it seemed to provide a twinge of assurance, to then only remind him of things left undiscovered and unsaid.

Things that, ridiculous as it was, would perhaps find their way back around.

 **Present Time**

 **GUN FORTRESS ALPHA**

 **LOCATION UNDISCLOSED**

He just HAD to go and open his mouth, didn't he?

From atop of the observation deck, Abraham Tower stood, eyes centered on the plethora of screens before him, displaying and documenting happenings and events taking place all over the United Federation, both in major cities and around the borders of the country. Ideally, the Commander would've had one stationed in each and every area where even the smallest population resided, yet even as head of GUN, he was not a man with a bottomless wallet. Plus, he wasn't about to jeopardize a position he hadn't even held for a year by throwing money as he liked. He had to stay here. He NEEDED to stay here, and not for the simple reason of holding a position of power. Any fool could do that.

Still, all the same, Tower couldn't deny that this most recent happening didn't sit with him well. When that horned devil had come to the Earth, at long last, he thought that would be the peak of anything that could be thrown at him. And after all his preparation, how could anything else top it? He didn't mean for it to seem like a challenge, yet it seemed to be taken as such, for not but a short time after the country was finally recovering from the onslaught of creatures set upon them from above, he had gotten word of something rather peculiar.

And, ironically enough, it would be the surveillance system that would both alert, and be the catalyst of the events that happened afterward.

It began simple enough. Deceptively so, he thought in retrospect. About a month ago, some of the cameras set up near and around the border between the more human populated country and the less colonized, more wild portion that made up more of the continent, were inexplicably being tampered with, leaving them with little to no signal in the area. That area in itself had become something of a place of interest, given how it was around the border that the once intact ruins of Glyphic Canyon came crashing down. Ironically enough, a good majority of the piece either sank into the ocean or became broken pieces of rubble.

Served that horrid monster right...even if he may or may not have had some…'help'.

Nevertheless, the issue remained that someone, or more likely, several someones, were screwing around with their property, and needed to be dealt with. Yes, the footage had been salvaged, yet they could tell little from what they managed to catch before its destruction. Thus, a recon squad hailing from a base near the border and around Grand Metropolis to the south were dispatched to investigate. At first, when they arrived on the scene, reports were fairly normal. The terrain was a little more forested than the 'big city' (or their big city at least), yet they were eventually able to find the damaged equipment. And with that, news regarding some strange occurrences around the city came to be known as well.

While no one could be sure, and it was, at the time, mostly reliant on word of mouth spreading from person to person, yet civilians of Grand Metropolis had reported recent sightings of strange, darkly colored figures lurking around the outer borders of the city, the earliest of these sightings seemingly beginning a month or two ago, though they had apparently become more frequent with time, the most recent of these, oddly enough, not long before the incident with the surveillance equipment. And even more peculiar, there were a couple of quirks regarding whenever someone happened to spot one of them. One, they sometimes veered near, sometimes just mere inches from it, yet they never crossed the border between the area that marked the beginning of the woodland outside and the clearing around the city. Two, whenever they WERE spotted, they did one of two things: either they noticed their observer and quickly made themselves scarce, or, they didn't notice. And they didn't notice because, according to what was heard, they seemed to be doing…something odd.

Again, given the distance, those that happened to spot them couldn't get a fantastic look, yet from the looks of it, they appeared to be 'spitting' some sort of substance into their hands and then spreading it all over the ground, continuing this until they were thoroughly satisfied and then they scampered off. Specialist Robin Michaels, otherwise known as Firefly, had stated that they had found some strange looking slime nearby their locations at various times as time progressed. And according to her, it, in her words, "Smelled like a weird combination of an ant trail and acid.".

Of course that wasn't all. The report for the condition of the camera found also rose a few brows. And for Abraham, invoked a twisting, lurching sensation in the pit of his lower stomach.

The equipment in itself was torn to shreds, the squad members remarking how there appeared to be 'claw marks' of sorts all over the device. And this in itself was just one of many oddities that appeared on each and every one that they found. Many of them appeared to be blasted through, as if someone had access to one of Eggman's laser weapons and saw fit to shoot through each and every one of them. The possibility of the mad scientist being responsible had indeed been brought up, yet while he didn't dismiss it outright, Abraham found himself doubting that very much. Yet his suspicions, strong as they were, ultimately were ruled to be both illogical and based on nothing, so he found no reason to mention it. Besides, it was an impossibility. They were dead. 'He' was dead.

Then came the update that would change everything.

Sergeant Wilson called in, reporting that at exactly zero-one-hundred hours, one of their firemen, Private First Class Jerry Parker, aka 'Firecracker', had gone missing. And if that wasn't enough, the details related to his disappearance made little to no sense either. Due to the hour it was in that particular area and the thickened foliage all around them, the Sergeant said that it was perhaps these elements that made said disappearance only known a short time later. Still, there were some peculiarities regarding it. Firecracker's knife and pistol were discarded and thrown in the bushes where he had last been seen, and, as before, there appeared to be a strange, slimy blob near the spot.

That raised some alarm. What occured next, however, brought forth an entire platoon being deported to the wilds of that place.

Not but a short time later, at around zero-three-hundred hours, two more of the eight squad members have gone missing, PFC Michael Deans (Boomer) and PV2 Jessica Carter (Dagger). Sergeant Wilson was clearly attempting to retain control of the situation, yet around zero-found-hundred hours, two more members had been picked off. Then two more, and when it was assumedly just Wilson and Firefly, the Commander and those monitoring them were greeted with the sounds of boots pounding against the ground and panicked shouts to 'Leave us alone!', 'What is that?!' and 'They're all around us!' among several other statements and phrases as the two continued to desperately get away from whatever was on their tail. All the while, as the Commander noted, a familiar set of noises became more and more audible as they continued to run for what was apparently their very lives.

'Trilling.' he reflected from his perch. 'Trilling...and a gurgling, raspy roaring…'

Then the connection was lost. Any and all attempts to try and get it back resulted in nothing but the dead air and static meeting everyone's ears. What had begun as a simple search for information had now evolved into a rescue mission. From his own base of operations, Abraham Tower sent out a platoon to scour the dense woodland where the team of eight had presumably been attacked and taken. At least, he could only hope that they were taken. Where to, he knew not, yet it at least left him with a better chance at some of them being alive.

Ultimately, he was proven half right.

Despite the large influx of men sent to the previous squad's destination with quite a larger amount of firepower, they and all involved with the mission found that, bizarrely enough, had begun to question whether or not they were even sent to the right place. Odd as it was, if not outright impossible, yet the situation became clear: every member of the squad had seemingly vanished from existence. Evidence of their presence was found, along with some of the damaged cameras they had been sent to inspect, yet other than that, nothing.

'It's like they popped out of reality, man.' Tower remembered one troop noting, his bewilderment shared with just about everyone else there with him.

Still, they searched on. On and on, and for a good week and a half, nothing came up. Until one day, just when discussion about what the next move should be, one of the choppers spotted something. One the edge of the forest line, not but a few miles from the border of Grand Metropolis, four of the eight were seemingly lying there, unconscious and with torn, barely wearable uniforms. But a quick check of their pulse thankfully indicated that they were quite alive. Yet the other four, whilst they were found shortly afterward, the results of that search weren't anything worthy of celebration. If anything, to the Commander's chagrin, it was yet another time for mourning.

Firecracker, Firefly, Boomer, and Dagger had been the only recorded survivors of the team, the bodies of the other three members and Sergeant Wilson were found not but a few miles away. While the main focus was getting the four partially naked soldiers to a medical center as fast as possible, the area where the deceased members were found bore a few details that made the heads of the operation somewhat puzzled, if not unsettled.

'They were...set in positions like the four that were alive. That's why, when we found them, we initially had hoped that…' Abraham remembered Sergeant Docks telling him, the usually hardened man unsteady in his delivery. 'Holes.' he simply said. 'So many holes...everywhere. All over…'

A low sigh escaped from the silver haired man's lips. True, the cameras in that area had been reinstalled, and the survivors were brought in and evaluated (all of which had surprisingly decent enough health, undigested meat even in their stomachs as if they were being cared for), yet it seemed that was in no way an indicator that the worst was over.

"Sir?" a lone voice from behind him drew the GUN head away from the plethora of screens, a woman garbed in a doctor's attire and a tightly kept, brunette bun standing but a few feet away.

"Dr. Kesler?" the Commander half greeted, half questioned.

The woman would never speak it aloud, yet honestly, it always seemed that her leader had such a cold, constantly deliberating look, as if he were continuously pondering something grim, but of high importance. And maybe it was this very thing that, misguided as it might've been, led her to assume that she could, quite literally, deliver to him any sort of news. Not that she would've held anything from him in the first place, as aside from guidelines, the man made it clear to everyone under his authority that NOTHING was to be kept from him.

"Who's tried to crack their skull open this time?" Kesler was somewhat taken aback by this, yet then again, what other reason would she be here for?

"No one as of recently." she answered back. "Though, there's been some new...developments."

Abraham quirked his brow at this. "Go on."

"You know those abnormal 'growths' that appeared on the x rays? The ones located between the organs?"

The older man steeled himself. "What did you find?"

"That's just it, sir." the woman answered, eyes shifting nervously, not even sure on how to quite deliver this. "We didn't find anything. Not in the same place at least." she took a moment to adjust her spectacles, her teeth beginning to grind on her bottom lip. "They've moved."

 **Unknown Location**

He shifted his hands with trepidation, his clawed fingers catching on the ends of his robes. The orders he had been given were clear, and he knew well from experience that Breeder's orders were to be followed to the letter.

Still...he found himself struggling.

His coming here undetected was enough of a risk, the Blodex ship couldn't be landed on Earth, that would've given them all away immediately. And even still, the location he HAD been forced to land in still risked a good chance of being seen. He couldn't even risk simply allowing those with him to drop from the skies as before, leaving him manually transporting each and every one of the Arms in his possession himself. And even then, there was STILL the issue of gathering those Emeralds, all the while making sure that they were seen. Granted, his efforts bore success. His species was saved, his...beloved Breeder and parent had been rescued from the brink of death. Everything was all right.

And yet...he wondered just how much had changed really. If anything, they all had to be even MORE cautious now. Especially since Breeder had decided to execute his little 'experiment' regarding those humans-

"Death?"

The hooded Arms member stiffened. "Yes, my Breeder?"

A low chuckle echoed through his mind, the amusement Death's parent was projecting doing nothing to ease his anxiousness. "Rest assured, everything is fine. As I have said it would be." a low sigh echoed throughout the nearly light-less cavern. "Soon, my children will make our newest dwelling available for the taking."

"And the ones that will be deposited here?"

"They are going through the metamorphosis as we speak. Yet they need to be distributed to their proper places soon. Especially since the process has been...amplified, in a sense."

Death found himself receiving a signal that, quite honestly, caught him off guard. Was Breeder...pleased with him? Proud even?

"Yet we can't celebrate just yet." his parent's voice stated. "There is one last task that needs to be done."

"And that would be…" Death began to ask, his words stopping as an image was projected into his mind. "My...my Breeder, you can't be-"

"Don't." his concealed parent interrupted him. "Don't even try. My decision has been made, and it is final."

"But Breeder, he's the cause of all of this! He's the reason tha-"

"All the more reason that it be done as soon as possible!" Death went silent, a light tremble traveling up his body. "I want our reprisal to be an event that the inhabitants of this planet, and those of our own race to be a hallmark for not just those present, but for generations to come!" the source of the voice paused for a moment, another image briefly flashing through the mind of his subordinate, though it was far from anyone, let alone anything he had expected. As if, in his frenzy, the thought had momentarily slipped in thanks to the link, only to be wrangled back before Death could fully process it.

'A...girl?'

"I want the one that caused all of this, the one that put us all, and you, through so much turmoil." in the darkness, a source of light came to be seen: golden in color and resting in the center of a set of six more colored lights surrounding it. "I want HIM."

 **On the Outskirts of Westopolis**

Summer was beginning the transition into autumn, the chilled air sometimes taking him by surprise and the reddening leaves almost everywhere. One leaf floated down towards the Ultimate Lifeform's spot, landing right at the base of his jet shoes, at the base of the one, lone tree in the expansive field outside of the city. Ironic he would be here, he thought, halfway wondering whether or not the skies would turn a darkened crimson in the next moment or two. Thankfully, it seemed that tonight, just as the nights over these past few months, was going to be clear and speckled with a handful of stars here and there in the darkened abyss above.

'Trees naturally lose their leaves whenever winter comes along, Shadow.' the hedgehog's lips tightened, her voice echoing as she read from the pages of that encyclopedia of plant life. 'It's sort of like a process of re birthing yourself. In fact, a lot of ancient cultures and civilizations dedicated entire festivals and rituals to the coming of the new season. Especially spring.'

Shaking his head, Shadow turned his gaze up towards the sky. To an extent, it was a useless gesture, seeing as he couldn't even spot the colony from his place under the tree, let alone have a clue of where it was currently in the planet's orbit. Despite his current musings, the Ultimate Lifeform (NOT an Arms spawn, no matter what anyone, especially that aging fool said) wasn't intentionally seeking out reminders or delving into the still uncovered recesses of his mind to try and uncover anything else prior to his (supposedly) second awakening. On the contrary, since his last visit to the Ark, he had made it a point that he would try to not even set foot in the place for a good while. Yes, he didn't entirely believe that this would last forever, yet, bizarrely enough, Sonic's words to him continued to be ever present in his mind.

And that in itself was what made the process all the more frustrating.

Despite the rather...chaotic and unexpected journey he had to undergo in order to even get the smallest bit of information, at the end of it all, despite the questions that still remained, Shadow couldn't deny that he DID gain, in a sense, what he had sought out. Who, what, when, where, and why, and begrudgingly, how, were all answered. The persons involved with his conception, both terrestrial and non, were of no more, along with a good degree of others that had once boarded the Ark. Like it or not, and he would be lying if he said he was all right with any of it, what else was there to do? According to those he had tracked down and asked, even before Black Doom's armies came down from the heavens, the truth of what had actually happened there got out. The entirety of the United Federation now knew of the massacre that took place, along with the fact that the government had essentially been lying to them. To an extent, it was an absolute, karmatic justice that was long overdue.

It was done and over with. He knew now what had occurred. He was reminded of what that young...brave (foolish?) girl had done for him, to allow him to see the place she continuously fantasized and obsessed over. And perhaps, most importantly...he remembered the promise that he had made to her.

'Shadow…'

It was all done and over with.

'Shadow, I beg you!'

It was done and over with.

'This is what you wanted...right?'

It was…

'My promise...to you…'

It was…

'...for taking my dearest Maria away from me…'

No.

No, it...it wasn't. It wasn't done. Not in the slightest. And that only served to make Sonic's words to him all the more frustrating.

He had began falling back into the patterns prior to the invasion, only now, his approach was far more adamant and, perhaps, a little more aggressive. Bizarrely enough, he found himself NOT going to Sonic first. Despite him seemingly being one of the main sources of potential information, the ebony hedgehog (not an alien abomination!) sought out Rouge once again, and given how quiet things had been as of late, she was relatively easy to get in contact with. It also probably helped in that she was also looking to meet up with him as well. Though her reasoning was more based on business.

"You've been going up there again, haven't you?" she questioned him, this essentially serving as her greeting to him. "The fact you're not saying 'yes' or 'no' is a good enough indication already."

He in turn stated that the orders he had been given was not to be seen on the ship. And upon her answering that, no, no such footage existed, then it was clear that he was, technically, not breaking any rules so to speak.

This earned his a roll of her turquoise eyes, Shadow noticing that she was tense. More so than usual, even if he had been rather distant as of late. Even more so than usual as well, for him at least.

"A recon squad from Fort Metro just went missing." she told him plainly. "They've been found, though only half of them are alive." it certainly wasn't news he was anticipating, though ultimately, he was more curious as to why she felt the need to tell him such information. "Because…" she began, yet stopped herself. "Look Shadow, truth is, you're on a tight leash already. And if you're seen breaking the rules, that leash is going to get even tighter. Just...don't give the big boys in GUN an excuse to begin pointing any fingers. Because, ultimately, there's only so much that I can do."

She said no more after that, and any other interactions afterward mainly consisted of her making him swear that he HADN'T been to the Ark or doing any other potentially suspicious activity. In fact, it was through her that he came to find out that the Chaos Emeralds had been becoming rather difficult to find as of late. The Commander, according to the agent and word of mouth in GUN, had been developing a couple of theories as to why. Theories that Shadow completely denounced. Impossible, he told himself, bringing himself back to the present, the position of the stars above still the same and the night wind still giving him a slight chill. It was absolutely impossible. There...there was no way, no feasible way.

Aside from this, however, Shadow found that any new information regarding what occurred regarding the Ark's apparent near crashing into the planet wasn't going to come to him, no matter how hard he seemingly pushed. Rouge only gave out what she told him before, stating that he, even though he was found by Eggman and assisted him in stealing the Emeralds, as well as inadvertently framing Sonic for such actions, the planet itself would have possibly been destroyed had it not been for his intervention.

"Professor Robotnik activated a Doomsday program that you helped stop." she assured him. "And...and even before that...you saved my life on Prison Island." she said no more telling him to drop it.

He had tried another avenue, having discovered where Amy resided. Yet when the opportunity came, he couldn't do it. Those large, green eyes looking up at him, bright and happy...when he sometimes saw them flowing with tears in his mind. He left as soon as he arrived, leaving the pink hedgehog more than a little confused. The Chaotix was of little help, having had no involvement in that incident, and frankly, Tails was of even less help. Shadow believed the fox was simply covering for Sonic, suspecting he would probably try him next.

'Smart kid.' he mused. So far, aside from the blue pest and Knuckles, there wasn't really anyone he hadn't questioned about the matter. And Tails himself outright told the hedgehog that the echidna was probably not the best option, especially given what had supposedly occurred at Glyphic Canyon.

Thus, he was left with only one more option. One that had already made it clear that he wasn't interested in prying into this any further.

'...so why am I?'

He was going to leave, there was no point in staying here any longer. He began to turn in the opposite direction, his gloved hand supporting him as it was placed on the thin trunk of the three, yet he stopped before he could even turn halfway.

He felt something. A sensation of sorts that steadily enveloped his entire being. 'No.' this...he knew this. 'No, it's impossible.' This figure was intentionally making themselves known to him. And the signature...it wasn't exactly the same, but Shadow wasted no time with such details. Against his better judgement, as well as his sudden bout of near-crippling (shamefully so) trepidation, the Ultimate Lifeform reminded himself he was indeed such, and turned around, his ruby red eyes coming to find...nothing.

Absolutely nothing-

"Horns?"

The shiver that assaulted his spine was immediate, yet the hedgehog found that his body worked quicker than his mind, for whilst the voice he had just heard indeed bore the same deep tone with the accompanying, raspy gurgle, there was a distinct difference in both pitch and inflection. Not to mention, this voice appeared to be caught in a limbo of confusion, hurt, and...envy?

"He...he gave you horns?" the owner of the voice spoke again. "You? Of all things, he gave you-"

Something had begun to brush the ends of his quills.

The sensation triggered Shadow to whirl around and leap back, body positioning itself to combat whomever had come upon him. Though upon seeing the figure, he found his own form tensing up, his unwanted, horrible suspicions being somewhat confirmed. Only somewhat, however, as what he came to see fulfilled those intrusive expectations, and yet at the same time, did not. The figure bore thick robes and seemed to have no lower half, akin to whom his mind conjured up, yet unlike that particular figure, this one bore no large horns atop of his head. In fact, it appeared that his head was covered with a thick, draping hood. His robes are a combination of red, blue, green, and gold, two red streams flowing down and dragging along the grass, yet he bore no elaborate collection of colored stones or jewelry to adorn around his neck. In fact, Shadow thought, compared to 'him', this one appeared almost demure. Submissive, even.

"They…" he began again, his three eyes wide, directing his vision to his three-digit hand, then to the hedgehog. "No. They're not horns…"

"...no, they're not. Those are what you would call quills." Shadow answered. "Though whether they're quills or horns, I don't care." he had to keep it together. This figure wasn't 'him', yet he looked close enough. "What I DO care about is how you're even here."

The hooded being studied the smaller creature before him, his eyes taking and detailing everything that they could catch before centering themselves onto the hedgehog's widened, but confrontational gaze. "...I'm surprised." the being finally spoke, voice and presentation transforming drastically from what it had been before. "Given the circumstances, I should be absolutely furious, dare say, have every reason in the universe to strike you down now, but frankly, I'm nothing short of flabbergasted."

Shadow quirked a brow, not exactly liking how quickly this figure was able to change his tune. "At?"

"You." he answered. "The fact that our Breeder is no more, the looming extinction of our race...it is all due to you." his three eyes narrowed into slits. "You murdered the very one who gave you life."

"And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Shadow hissed. "Now, if you want me to give you something a slight more merciful of an end, then you can start by telling me how you're even here."

The figure's hands balled into fists, clearly wanting nothing more than to strike this insolent little evolutionary dead end...yet no. Responsible as he was for all that occurred, he had a reason for being here. "Are introductions not of any interest?"

Shadow leapt forward, leg extended in front of him and the sole of his jet shoe aiming right in the center of the Arms' three-eyed face. What he met, however, was nothing more than grass and dirt.

"Apparently not." the figure stated, having materialized behind the Ultimate Lifeform. "It also seems to not be of interest for you to know that even with personal grievances, it is unbecoming to attack a simple messenger." he then turned to Shadow, folding his arms behind his back. "You asked how I am here, therefore, I shall answer. I am Black Death, subordinate to my Breeder, Black Doom, and holder of the emergency reserves of our colony."

"He said nothing of you from what I recall." Shadow stated, voice dripping with suspicion.

"As he wished it." Black Death responded.

"And you've clearly wished to remain hidden. So what motivated you to foolishly seek me out?"

It was obscured by the collar of his robes, yet Shadow could've sworn that, assuming this 'Death' bore an abnormal 'mouth' akin to his superior, it would've been something akin to a twisted grin. "It is not me that wishes to see you. I am here on behalf of another."

Another...no, Shadow thought. No, he...he wasn't-

"I don't believe I need to tell you who."

It was completely involuntary, the speedster mentally reciting and spouting curses on himself for allowing such a loss of control, yet his body refused to obey him. The night air had seemingly grown to near freezing, despite how fast his heart began to beat. His breathing, despite there being more than enough oxygen to spare, had grown rapid and short, his head also beginning to shake left to right. "No." was all Shadow could croak out, his tongue also refusing to cooperate with him. "You...you lie." Death seemed unmoved by this. In fact, it appeared that his reaction was what he had hoped for. "You lie!"

"You don't believe that."

"You're lying! I saw him! I saw him-"

"As did I!" Death suddenly roared. "As did all of us! The few that were left! We saw how you doomed us to a slow extinction! Oh yes, I saw and dealt in much of what YOU wrought upon us, you…" yet just as he was about to continue, despite his seething, the hooded Arms member stopped himself, a low exhale escaping him. "You...have much to answer for. Which is why I come to you now. To tell you that you have been summoned by Breeder himself."

"No. You...even if you're here, there's no way that-"

"Are you familiar with the Chaos Emeralds?" Death interrupted. "Do you know where they are at this very moment?" Shadow went silent. "Have been elusive as of late?" shameful as it was, the Ultimate Lifeform found himself unable to speak. "Despite the crimes you've committed against us, just some amongst many you may have 'forgotten', I am required to grant you this: Breeder requests that you come to him as soon as you are able, which, seeing as you're in reasonably good physical health, I'd suggest that time would be now."

"Then you can tell him I refuse." Shadow retorted, finally finding his voice.

Death seemed unaffected by this response. If anything, he expected it completely. "Then we shall have to perform the task of delivering you to him. And don't believe for a second that we're incapable of doing so. You know NOTHING of what many of our soldiers can do, especially those of more recent births."

"Let them come then." Shadow answered back, having had enough of this fool's talking, he readying himself for yet another assault on the supposed subordinate.

"...fine." Death shrugged. "It shall be done." Shadow didn't lower his guard, yet he took notice of the change in direction the being was taking. "They will come. They...and those nice humans in the uniforms." He tried to conceal it, yet upon seeing the hedgehog's eyes widen in realization, Death knew that he had him. "Let them see you in the company of the rest of Breeder's children. With your siblings-"

"They and I have NO relation-"

"And do you think they would care?" Death interjected. "Did they care when we first came to this planet? Did they ask you questions as to whether or not one was trying to take one of the Emeralds away from you instead of you handing it over? Did they care when you unwittingly sent a good portion of their men hurling into overturned debris with that Chaos Blast?" he leaned forward. "Would they care if that winged comrade of yours vouches for your innocence until she is out of breath? Or the blue rat?"

Shadow stepped back. The skies had yet to change color, nor was the city in the distance in any peril, yet he could've sworn that he had been transported right back to that day a few months prior. Only now, unfortunately, he held a better understanding of the potential dangers this horrid monster was speaking of. Each and every one of them an undeniable possibility.

"Yet as I said, I am just a humble messenger. And as far as I'm concerned, the message has been delivered." Black Death stated, beginning to maneuver away from the wracked hedgehog, of whom now followed him with utmost focus. "Should you accept Breeder's request, then rest assured, he will know. And he shall let you find him." he had his back to Shadow now, his body beginning to fade away in a reddened light. "You're already on a rather tight leash as it is, Shadow. And personally, speaking from experience, I'd advise not making said leash any tighter. That said, the choice remains with you."

Shadow bolted, rushing right towards the horn-less Arms member, a gloved hand reaching out...only to meet dead air as he passed through the last of the speckles of energy, the solid figure that had conjured them long gone. Shadow, once again, was on his lonesome.

Only now, he only WISHED that his prior predicament was his major fixation.

Had that being, that 'Black Death' not been in front of, let alone touched him, he wouldn't have believed it. He wished he didn't have to. They...the Black Arms were dead. They were ALL dead! He saw to that! The comet was gone! Black Doom himself was gone! This was impossible! And yet, whom had he just been talking to? Whom had just told him of his conversations with Rouge? Of Sonic and his participating should GUN get involved?

Oh God, GUN…

It...it wasn't as if he feared them. Absolutely not. He...he feared nothing. He didn't fear GUN, he didn't fear their weapons, their guns, and...and he especially didn't fear this 'Black Death' or his message! Let whatever was left of Doom's 'children' come! Let them come to him! Let-

RUSTLE

Shadow whirled around fast, a collection of densely packed foliage nestled by the woodline moving slightly in the breeze. At least, he assumed it to be the breeze.

RUSTLE

Another noise, only this time, he couldn't tell where from.

RUSTLE

And another.

'Those nice humans in the uniforms…'

RUSTLE

'They will come…'

RUSTLE

'Let them see you in the company of the rest of Breeder's children. With your siblings-'

Shadow released something between a moan and a growl, his head being clutched by both hands. The rustling seemed to have cease for the time being, more evidence that, no, no one was here.

'They will come…'

There...yes, Black Death, even if he was who he claimed to be, what indication was there that he was indeed telling the truth? After all, Doom was far from entirely honest with him. And even if some of those creatures DID come for him, surely those uniformed idiots would see that they were attacking him! That he had no intention on joining with them!

'Did they care? Would they care?'

Person of interest or not, surely they'd see…

'You're already on a tight leash.'

He...he needed to go. Go for a...a short run, yes, that was it. Go on a run...and think. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately, yes, perhaps too much, but he needed to, especially now.

"Wh-What?"

Especially now, that a strange, yet startlingly familiar sensation seemed to come to him out of nowhere. Small, and far from strong, yet it was there. A bizarre 'pull' of sorts, as if something he had been unaware of had once again gone into effect. As if a 'link' of some kind had been, finally, rekindled.

 **Note: A small notice: some things are left vague and not really explained, as I don't want to give any too much detail as of yet. While I don't want people to be totally confused, I want the characters to find things out around the same time as the audience does, so that it's a discovery for both parties. And, it'll also hopefully provide more of a shock value when those things become known. I'll admit, even if they are necessary at times, I'm not the biggest fan of info dumps. I like things to be given out gradually and with time, that way you know only just enough, but want more, thus, you want to continue along.  
**

 **That said, I hope I didn't sound too haughty in that little opinion, and I thank you all for your patience and putting up with my BS. I hope to keep you interested in the future! Reviews motivate me to continue on! Thank you!**


	15. Chapter 2-Lure

**Note: Hey guys, official chapter 2 here! Before we begin, I'd like to humbly thank the nice folks on the Writer's Anonymous forum for giving me some tips on basic military procedure, such as recon squads (of which I typed as retcon like an idiot) and training exercises/missions. Because while, indeed, Sonic is far from the most realistic series, I still want to at least have some level of belivability or have things happen in an organic enough matter to where it at least seems plausible enough. That said, here's more for you to hopefully enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2-Lure**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

"Moved?" Commander Tower questioned. "What do you mean, 'moved'?"

"Essentially that, sir." Dr. Kessler answered. "The masses aren't in their former places. Even more, most of the patients in quarantine have been restrained." she bit her lip hard, her dark brown eyes shifting uncomfortably. Her profession was far from a clean one, yet that didn't necessarily translate to complete desensitization. Ms. Michaels' tried to wrangle away one of the doctor's needles and cut into her neck, and Mr. Parker's resumed his routine of banging his head on the wall. He's going to need to be transferred should he continue. Any more, and he's bound to give himself a concussion at this rate."

The silver haired human found himself robbed of words for a moment. "...and the other two?"

"The same." Kesler solemnly answered. "Mrs. Carter's legs are still in bandages from her 'playing' with my scalpel, and Mr. Deans is still convinced that the 'monster' is still in his chest."

'Said 'monster' that you've just told me has 'moved.' Abraham pondered. To a degree, he knew that the question would provide the same answer as before, he having asked the same question a good number of times since the four survivors of that squad were brought in. Still, whether it be due to this new development or the still lingering dread that seemed to loom over him these past months since Earth's apparent 'victory', he found he simply couldn't help himself. "Do they still not have any details on who or what their captors were?"

Kesler shook her head, sharing her leader's look of frustration. "Aside from the noises they made, they still say the same thing: it was dark, they were restrained and blindfolded, and aside from being tossed…'something' to eat, no."

A gloved hand came to rest under Tower's chin. "Half of them are dead, and yet all of them were taken and, in a twisted way, cared for."

The female physician nodded. "And what they were provided with wasn't hazardous. True, according to them, it was some form of raw meat. Very raw...and fresh. Yet if they didn't want them dead, at least not yet, then what could the other four have done to not be amongst those found alive?"

Now, wasn't that the million dollar question? It wasn't unheard of, no, yet usually, most that ended up in situations such as these, lack of details notwithstanding, didn't come out alive. And whilst a 'quota of death' had been met in a way, the other surviving half were released just like that. No exchange, no contact from the ones that took them hostage, nothing. It was just like the one troop in the rescue squad said: they had just popped out of reality, then they popped right back in.

'Popped out...the popped right back in…' he couldn't help but wonder. He couldn't help but theorize, and then he couldn't help but begin to believe…

"Sir!" his and Dr. Kesler's attention was wrangled from each other and to a young man situated in a seat to the far left on the upper platform of the deck. "Sir, may I have a moment of your time!? I believe this holds precedent!"

Commander Tower abandoned Kesler and made his way to that particular area on the top floor. "Yes, what is it?"

"It…" the young man sputtered, looking up and down to the keyboard in front of him, then to the screen built into the wall above it. "I don't understand!" he placed his hand on a small sphere embedded into the lower center of the keyboard and scrolled up, directing a cursor to each one of four, smaller screens, each of them, like the one he had been on before, displaying nothing but static. "It was fine just a moment ago! What in the world-"

"What?" the Commander inquired, growing irritated with the technician's inability to answer a simple, and from the looks of it, critical question. "What is it?! Spit it out, man!"

His blood ran cold upon receiving his answer. "It's the Ark, sir. We...we've just lost contact with the Ark."

 **Elsewhere**

 **Near the Holy Summit, on the Border**

 **Two Days Prior**

The whirling blades of their transport deafened the natural ambiance of their nearby destination, the sounds of boots pounding against the flooring and then the ground itself far from doing anything to lessen it. Much less lessen the ringing in everyone's ears. From the darkly colored helicopter poured out a slew of uniformed men and women, the three letters embezzled on the helicopter's side and the badge positioned on the left arm sleeve and helmet of each individual present showed clear and well whom they belonged to. Helmets of standard camouflage colors and thick visors covered everything save for the nose and mouth, and any long hair fastened into a low maintenance ponytail or braid (as required via guidelines), though, if possible, tucking said hair underneath the helmet would've been ideal. Appropriately colored, long-sleeved collared shirts rested underneath a similar colored camouflage, ballistic vest, and dull, brown turtleneck rested underneath the shirt. The lower half of all present composed of a utility belt, trousers the same color and material of the collared shirts, knee pads of brown, and a pair of brown boots that came to the calves.

Each of these uniformed men and women, fifteen in total, were here and ready, each carrying with them a standard assault rifle, and with that, the accompanying ammo. Of course, given what they were here for, the only thing that was going to be fired at anyone would be paint rounds. Of course, there was little time to debilitate over this, as the troop of fifteen immediately began journeying to the wood-line ahead of them, their commanding officer at the head and goading them along with his rather colorful vocabulary. On, on, on they went, some among them tasked with transporting the necessary essentials, the craft that had carried them all here beginning to rise, the sight of the small platoon becoming more and more difficult to spot with time, the last remnants of them making it through the woodline, disappearing amongst the towering trees and overgrown flora of the area.

 **Present Time**

'Got to do this.' one among the fifteen mused to herself, reminiscing on how the heavy supplies set upon her back forcing her to run with a hunched back, the weight decreasing her speed and forcing her to lag more towards the back of the group. Still, on she went. Where else was there to go? She was already here as it was.' Got to get this one right.' At least she wasn't last, unlike last time. Even if it had been her first exercise, the one that had cemented her place among these other uniformed men and women, anyone with eyes could tell that it was, to put it bluntly, far from ideal. True, she had completed it, yet all the same, it was as her commanding officer said,

'Performance is what is truly looked at.'

'Performance on who gets to be labeled an asset or a meat shield.' as soon as that particular comment came to her, she quickly banished it, immediately going into chastising herself. How dare she, she thought. How dare she be so ungrateful. She didn't have to be here. And it could've been argued that she SHOULDN'T. And even with that, here she was, and she dared to-

 **CROAK!**

She shifted her gaze to the west, nine-o'clock to be exact, her black, tight braid whirling with her head, only to have the darkened canopy of her current location greet her. A frog, she thought. She had gotten all jumpy over a frog. 'Good thing we weren't sent to Frog Forest.' Even if the environment here did little to steady her nerves, at least the forecast could be better trusted here, in that there wouldn't be any sudden downpours. Hopefully.

Ultimately, all things considered, it had been going relatively well. Well enough. She and the rest of them arrived and got themselves set up without a hitch, the RON site (Remain over Night camp) was set up in just a few hours, and so far, there had been no complications or anything much to complain about. True, she wasn't overly thrilled about being assigned to guard the northwestern point of the site, if not for just how darned creepy this place looked in the middle of the night, yet a part of her was thrilled. Assigned...she had been assigned for something. She was being trusted with something of importance. She was far from the only one on guard duty that night, yet still, it was something.

Maybe it'd be something the Sergeant would take note of. And in turn, that something would work it's way back to 'him'. Fanciful thinking, yes, but it was still a possibility, if only just technically. Still, she couldn't help but ponder. Then imagine. Then wish. Then pray.

Her eyes darting around from behind her thickened visor, she took in an unsteady breath, and reached down underneath the turtleneck that composed of the undergarment of her camo gear, her partially gloved fingers fiddling around until they met a chilled, metal chain. She continued to work her fingers downward, feeling along the chain until they made contact with a larger object, far smoother in texture, save for the rim surrounding it. The tip of her index finger touched the smooth object, making small, circular patterns over its surface, a low sigh escaping her lips. The effects of simply touching the object were immediate.

The thoughts and warnings still came. Things such as 'Don't screw this up.' and 'You've got the make yourself look good on this one.' flooded her mind, the voice of the Commander, 'his' voice, being the most prevalent.

'Don't bother.' another voice suddenly spoke in her mind, this one female and more than a little familiar. It should've been, seeing as she had just spoken with her, though this particular snippet was from a good few months ago. Four, if she remembered correctly. 'You're going to do it anyway, I know you are. But don't be surprised with the answer you get.'

"Boo."

It took a moment, yet the distinction was clear between the sounds she thought about and what her own ears had just heard. Whirling around fast, the young woman came face to face with another garbed in the same attire as her, only this particular individual was a good foot or two taller than she, practically looming over her.

"The one time it'd be appropriate, not one squeak out of you." the new arrival, a man with chopped, brown hair and a tell-tale grin she knew well spoke, a slight bit of disappointment in his voice, but it was overlaid with a sense of amusement.

"No." she answered back, voice remaining civil, yet it was clear that it was, like his disappointment, a farce. "I don't do that anymore. I'm better now."

"You nearly lost it at a frog, so don't give me that."

"...I'm on guard duty, right? Got to be as careful as possible." she defended. "Besides, it's not just the blue team we've got to worry about. God knows what sort of animals are out here."

"Hey, whatever makes you feel like you're actually doing something, Squeaker." Her brow furrowed from behind her visor. "And before you say anything, keep in mind that Sarge himself told me to make sure you were at attention."

"Of course I-" she began, yet what he had just said registered with her. "He...he did?"

"Did I stutter?" her comrade (in name only) asked. "Course, I'm not willing to get his hopes up. You haven't fallen asleep, yet."

This, she DID have a comeback for. "About a quart of coffee does wonders for somebody." 'And five green tea pills', she was about to add, yet thought better of it. Still, she made a mental note to give whatever brand the coffee was her regards. She had been so busy chugging it down, she didn't take note of where it had come from. Another thing she didn't mention, lest it give her current company any more ammunition.

"Whatever." he finally said. "I just this thing to be over soon." it was a rarity, she herself scarcely believing it at first, yet his usually sarcastic voice softened. Dare she say, it actually sounded 'nice'. "Mina said it'd be any day now."

"Oh, yeah. That's right." she said aloud. "So, how long is-"

"I just said that she said it'd be any day now. You go deaf in the last second or two?"

She huffed. 'Fine, forget it.' Yeah, he did technically just say it, but still. Still...still…

'Still, I think he should get some sort of update. I mean, he IS a grandfather now, after all.'

'Fine. Call him up if you want. But it's a waste of time, I'm telling you now. He didn't show up to the baby shower, he didn't call during any of the nine months, so what chance is there that's he's going to do anything now?'

'...don't say that. He...he might still-'

 **RUSTLE**

Her eyes widened, turning southwest (six-o'clock) to find the familiar sight of the darkened forest, yet this time, she was certain that the source of the noise wasn't a frog. Both she and her current company raised their M4 carbines, she then debating on whether or not she should consider switching to live ammo. True, a paint round never felt good (she should know, having gotten more than a handful of bruises during initiation), yet if she had to be honest, she hadn't felt 'safe' since they first arrived here.

'It's so close.' she remembered saying to herself. 'So close to where that squad was found.' the main point in that being only half of them were accounted for as 'living'.

 **RUSTLE**

They, or it was coming closer. "Who's there?" she asked, a light kick to her calve being her answer.

"What are you doing?!" the taller man hissed.

"Don't kick me!" she hissed back, though their collective attention was brought back to whatever was coming towards them, the sounds becoming louder and louder with each passing second.

A vague silhouette in the darkness could be seen. It was undeniably bipedal with a somewhat stocky build: heavier up top, then slimming down at the waist. They both aimed, switching off the safety, though at best, a paint round would only deter whatever was coming-

"Ah!"

It lunged.

She 'squeaked'.

And 'it' seemingly 'squeaked' back. In a human voice, riddled with high doses of panic and pain.

 **At the Wood-line**

It wasn't exactly a lengthy trek, especially for one such as himself, even without Chaos Control, he had traveled further. Still, as strong as his resolve was (or perhaps it was just denial), Shadow found the fact that the 'pull' could've been detected as far as Westopolis unnerved him a good degree. The sensation, as much as it baffled and confused him, even now, still didn't entirely convince him that what this Black Death had told him was the truth.

'Impossible.' he kept reciting as he made his way here, reciting it even as he stood outside of the densely packed foliage before him. 'He…' it couldn't have been. He...he saw to it that Doom fell. After all, seeing as he nearly fell with him, if anyone should've been clear on whether or not the horned liar was deceased, it was undoubtedly him! Yet the urge was here. The link. 'That Black Death...he's doing this. Somehow.'

The Ultimate Lifeform knew in the deepest part of him that what he had just concluded sounded even more ridiculous than Black Doom seemingly returning from beyond the grave. He had just met this Black Death, what, a short time ago? Heck, he didn't even know of his existence until recently, nor did he even have a good idea of what exactly the hooded being was even capable of. Yet he had just seen the loathsome creature teleport in a similar manner, and he was undeniably of the same species as Doom (and himself, though he pushed the thought out with much anger), so was it really out of the realm of possibility that he could perhaps do more?

'Yes.' Shadow told himself. 'That's it. He...he's doing this. He's done this, and...and is just trying to get in my head.' look at him, stammering over his words, even if they were confined in his head. Nothing short of shameful for one such as himself. Far from befitting the Ultimate Lifeform.

Well, that would be rectified soon. If Black Death was so anxious for him to come, then why not indulge the foolish being? None of those that he promised would come from Shadow had appeared as of yet, so when he found the hooded being, he would make sure that he'd answer for it. Oh yes, he'd make him answer for each and every single of his words, not even including the threats he had thrown the hedgehog's way.

He began to move forward, steadily picking up speed, the flares of his jet shoes lightly singeing the blades of grass as he continued on, the pull in his chest, in his very core, also growing stronger and stronger.

 **A Distance Away**

 **Red Team RoN Site (Rest over Night)**

"Help…"

Both he and she lowered their weapons, the fellow soldier stumbling towards them, clearly out of breath, and judging by the large gashes and tears in his gear, having just gotten into or out of a pretty bad skirmish.

"Help me…" the injured man croaked out, pausing for a moment to allow a collection of spittle fall from his mouth, small blotches of red able to be seen amongst the clear saliva. His legs then gave way.

She wasted no time, setting her weapon aside and going to catch him, she somewhat unprepared for the amount of weight that had just been thrust into her. Nevertheless, even if he knocked her over, he still had something softer than the dirt and collection of flattened, dead leaves to cushion his fall.

"I'll get the Sarge." her comrade told her, taking her weapon with him. "You just work him over to his tent. Assuming he can still walk."

Indeed, while somewhat shameful and selfish on her part, the young woman was wishing for that as well. This man was rather built, and whilst she herself was far from what would've been considered petite, her practically dwarfed her in some areas, particularly the arms. Still, despite the considerable amount of difficulty he was giving her in carrying him to the closest tent she could feasibly reach, his condition brought with it a slew of questions, and an even larger number of concerns.

"You're definitely not one of ours. At least, I haven't seen you around. I guess that means you're from the blue team?" she questioned aloud, not exactly meaning to. Besides, what good would asking do? The guy was in no position to talk as it was. Still, that in itself was something to wonder.

If he was part of their opposing team in the exercise, then what the world was he doing coming all the way here? It wasn't as if either team knew where the other's current location was, that essentially being one of the key factors in this whole thing. So what could've motivated him to risk running blind through the woods at night, without assumedly no enhanced equipment for better navigation through the dark?

'And better yet…' she mused, biting her lip, half in the strain he was putting on her, yet the other half was at the forefront of her mind. 'Why wouldn't he just go back to his camp?' she didn't necessarily want an answer for that at the moment, though her concealed eyes found themselves drawn to the elongated, freshly made cuts that tore through his uniform. Not all of those could've just been caused by running through branches.

 **A Few Moments Later**

For the first time since this exercise began, the woman considered it something of a beneficial coincidence that she and the other man shared a tent with each other. Granted, she wasn't ready just yet to consider a blessing, and there WERE others that she had inadvertently roused in escorting her 'guest' inside, yet she was contemplating such.

"Who's the new guy, Squeaker?" one of the now awakened troops questioned, she clenching her teeth at hearing that name.

"Found him outside, Hotshot and I." she answered, escorting the wounded man to her empty, made bed, though his landing on the mattress wasn't exactly a smooth one. "I don't think he's one of ours, but it's clear that something happened out there with him."

"No kidding." a voice from the other side of the tent spoke out, low and full of authority. An older man garbed in a uniform similar to hers and the man previously with her (Hotshot) came over, she in turn moving out of the way so her superior could get to the injured soldier. "Why'd you drag him in here?" he questioned. "Hotshot here told me you were bringing him straight to me."

She shot said GUN soldier a look of shock and irritation, almost asking him aloud as to why he even told the Sergeant Michaels such a thing. Of course, weighing her options, she would probably only prefer one lecture compared to two. "He was barely standing and he's verging on losing consciousness, sir." she answered the older man, standing straight and tall, though, unlike her time in basic training, she kept her volume down. 'Maybe I never left.' "And this was the closest resting area near the both of us, so I thought…" her words died, ultimately finding explaining herself worthless.

"Look, at the moment, the focus needs to be on keeping him awake and treating this." her superior sighed. "Hotshot, go get a med kit." he ordered, the other man nodding and exiting the tent. "Octavia," he told the woman, her concealed eyes widening a bit upon hearing him address her as such. "Go make yourself useful and return to your post." he then gestured towards the small, mobile device on her utility belt. "See anything, report it, ASAP. No exceptions."

"Yes sir!" she nodded, immediately making her exit.

"Private," the Sarge then said. "Make sure you retrieve your weapon from Hotshot. And the next time you do something so stupid, I'm allowing everyone here to let your own fool self get killed. Understand?"

"...yes sir." with that, she truly took her leave.

The older soldier directed his attention back to the built man stationed on the bed. Indeed, the young woman wasn't exaggerating about his condition, yet that only made it all the more imperative to keep him conscious, if not just to get information on who, or what had even did this to him. Information that perhaps held the very continuation of this exercise in its hands.

 **Outside**

"It's not like I would've left it." she mumbled, having retrieved her weapon from Hotshot. "I'm not THAT stupid." it wasn't as if he had to carry a two-hundred-pound or so, hulking guy over, AND set him down on their own bed.

Still, if anything, at least Sarge actually addressed her by her officially assigned code-name. Even if such a thing was obligatory on his part.

'Guess in that sense, I'm lucky.' she thought. Had he seen her during basic training, she would've been assigned that hated moniker for sure.

She took a moment to look back at the tent she had exited out of, the entire area having once again gone quiet. A prospect of this perhaps getting back to the Commander entered her mind, self-centered as it was. Not a desirable quality, she knew, yet even without the continuous reminders from her peers, she wasn't here just out of some naive, self-serving ambition to be some big hero. That in itself was something she could laugh at, the image of her going all gung-ho against some big bad enemy or monster...ridiculous.

She just needed to be here. Even if it was just in the background, even if she wasn't the apple of anyone's eye, let alone 'his', at least she was present. And sometimes, she thought, allowing her hand to travel down her undershirt and stroke the smooth object underneath once again, perhaps that was all she could have managed to do.

 **Inside the Tent**

"All right, here's an easy one." Sergeant Michaels began, keeping his focus on the halfway conscious man and not snapping at the small crowd that had gathered around them. For the time being, they weren't close enough to where they couldn't properly tend to his wounds. "Name and rank?"

The soldier's answer was little more than a slurred moan at first, but with a little bit of work, he managed to maneuver his tongue well enough to provide something of an understandable answer. "G-Gridlock, Private First Class, sir." an unsteady breath followed.

"Ok, good." Michaels answered, momentarily holding his hand out for the man to shake, of which he did. "Nice to meet you, Private Gridlock. Name's Sergeant Michaels, that over there's Hotshot," he gestured to the man beside the both of them. "The one that brought you in is Octavia, and I guess thanks to her, now you've got the opportunity to meet everyone else in here." Once the soldier had released his hand, the older Commanding Officer held out his own to Hotshot, he in turn placing in his hand a handful of cotton balls, all of which were dabbed in alcohol. The Sarge was silent for the next few moments, heavily contemplating on whether or not he was, let alone should even ask what he had been meaning to since he became aware of this soldier's presence. "Next question, where'd you come from? Location and everything."

It appeared that the older man wasn't the only one realizing what this particular question meant, he in turn displaying a slight reluctance in answering it.

"Answer me." the Sarge commanded. "Did someone on the red team do this to you?"

"No!" Gridlock shouted back, shaking his head. "No, never!"

"Then who did?"

"I don't know!" the larger, more built man exclaimed, his demeanor at the moment far from matching his outer appearance. "I don't know." he repeated, not even caring about how he looked in front of the Commanding Officer, let alone the several eyes watching him anymore. "I couldn't see them well. Not a lot of us could." he choked out. "And those that could...they were taken out first."

Michaels nodded, momentarily averting his eyes and looking out the small opening of the tent. "So, I'm assuming that there's been no distress call made?"

"No time." his 'patient' confirmed. "It...it was like they knew. They KNEW that someone would try and call someone, so they took the network out. But...but they didn't take out everyone." Gridlock confirmed, beginning to rise, only to have a hand place itself on his chest to keep him down. "We didn't want to run. Really, we didn't. But...but the Sarge told us to try and find you, team red, I mean. And then...some of them kept coming. I heard some of the other guys get taken out, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't know. I think...they just left me alone." the opposing team member confessed. "Like, they…" his eyes widened, his words, as they fell from his lips, beginning to have a considerable amount of weight to them. "Like they just decided that I was the one to be left alone. Like they maybe wanted me to…"

It was too early to say for sure. True, it was clear that hostile forces were present, yet who or what they were couldn't be determined entirely. Yet given that one of the enemy team managed to find them, and with what he had just relayed to them all...Michaels turned to Hotshot. "Get on the radio." he commanded. "Tell them that the exercise has been compromised, and that blue team has been taken out-"

"Sarge, do you read me, over?"

The cubic-shaped walkie-talkie situated on his belt 'said', the voice familiar and feminine, its owner just outside.

"This is Sergeant Michaels. What's the situation, Private Octavia? Over."

"Someone just ran by here, over."

 **Outside the Tent**

"Someone?" her superior asked. "Doesn't do me a lick of good. Be specific, over."

"It was pretty fast, sir, over.." 'No, no, he said be specific, idiot!' Octavia berated herself. "Like, speed of sound fast, sir, over. Definitely not one of us, let alone a person, I think. It actually looked kind of short, with a bigger head." she continued observing the darkened forest before her, confused, then somewhat troubled by the lack of response from her superior. "Sir?"

"Did you get any colors, over?"

She quirked her brow. "Begging your pardon, sir, but-"

"Colors." Michaels repeated. "Did you notice any particular colors on him? Like blue of something?"

"Blue?" even if no one was around to see her, the Private shook her head. "I don't know if I can give a completely accurate testimony, sir, but just going off what I managed to get a glimpse of, no, I didn't see a lick of blue." she answered. "Actually, I think I saw bits of red-"

"Red?" the Sarge interrupted her again. "Anything else? Like gold maybe?"

"Sir, what-"

"Or black?"

She paused at that. "It...it's pretty dark out here, and if not for the little bits of red, I probably might've not seen them, so...yeah. Yes, I think he was-"

"Was it a hedgehog?"

"Sir? What are-"

"Was it a hedgehog, over?"

She stopped and thought, remembering and laying out as much as she could from the brief few moments that she became aware that something was coming their way, raising her weapon (just as she was about to switch out her paint rounds for live), only to have said something pass on by. Whether it, or he, or whatever noticed her or the camp or not, she didn't know, yet from the questions her superior was asking, the Private began to piece together just whom exactly she had just potentially seen.

 **A Distance Away**

What was he doing?

It wasn't immediate, yet with a short amount of time, the black and red hedgehog managed to come to a stop, the sound of his thrusters dying down and the surrounding ambience of the dense woodland overtaking everything. He looked down to his furred chest, a gloved hand coming to rest in the middle of the small tuft of ivory hair. The 'pull' had ceased. Again. Upon arriving here, and even when he had first been visited by Black Death in Westopolis, there was no mistaking the tugging, nagging sensation that had invited itself into the center of his very being. A wretched, horrid thing it was, gnawing and biting at Shadow's already growing (albeit heavily repressed) tension, so, in essence, what better way to deal with it than to go where it wished him to so he could nip it in the bud and be done with it?

Besides...it wasn't as if it was actually 'him'. It...it couldn't be. Impossible.

His initial plan, however, seemed to be derailed the moment he set foot in thick collection of trees and other, semi-exotic flora (if memory served him correctly, this time at least, the Frog Forest was a short distance away, for him at least). For just as he began his trek through this place, to his bewilderment, the pull, the draw, it seemed as if it had begun 'fading'. And not but a few moments ago, it had disappeared entirely.

Yet more evidence that it was just this 'Black Death' messing with him. It had to be.

Of course, with this sudden lack of direction, he found himself, quite literally, running aimlessly through the forest with no sense of direction save for going forward. Though where 'forward' actually was depended on what 'forward' was to Death.

'Then,' Shadow remembered the hooded figure saying, ironically so. 'We shall have to perform the task of delivering you to him. And don't believe for a second that we're incapable of doing so.'

Fine then, the black blur thought. If this Death wanted to play games with, fine. He could send out some more players, assuming that he was too cowardly to come out and find him on his lonesome. Minutes ticked on by, he was still alone.

'This is absurd.'

Still...one thing about that puzzled him.

'You know NOTHING of what many of our soldiers can do, especially those of the more recent births.'

What in the world did THAT mean? Better yet, even before that statement, why did Death deem it necessary to tell him of the Chaos Emeralds, let alone imply that he and these supposedly, newly birthed 'soldiers' had something to do with them being rather elusive as of late? Even more, why did he find himself beginning to theorize that perhaps the two subjects had some sort of correlation with another?

'You know NOTHING...especially...more recent births-'

No, he thought, immediately shaking his head to banish the alien's words from his mind. No, no, no, no, no! He was NOT entertaining this! He wasn't going to allow himself to conjure up and follow wild theories with no solid evidence! He'd not make the same mistake again.

'And yet you're here. On a hunch.'

And he wasn't going to get into imaginary debates with himself either. Besides, what happened with Black Doom...that...that was different. He had seen things with his own eyes. He doubted Death could even do that much.

Grumbling to himself and releasing a frustrated sigh, the Ultimate Lifeform scanned the surrounding area, finding himself as he had been before: completely alone.

"I grow weary of this!" Shadow shouted, his own voice being the only one to answer him back, fading away the further along it traveled in the dense, darkened woodland. Strangely enough, the natural inhabitants didn't see fit to quiet themselves, chirping and clicking and going on, continuing the nightly serenade. "For all your talk of coming to 'collect' me if I didn't comply, I'm finding your lack of response to be indicative that you're nothing more than talk!"

RUSTLE

No, he wasn't going to allow himself to get worked up over nonsense such as that again. "Well, I'm done. So here are MY terms!" Shadow proclaimed. "You have less than a minute, as I've been waiting long enough as it is." he paused for a moment, a twinge of trepidation coming over him. What for, he didn't (pretended not to) know. Pushing it aside, he continued. "You said that you'd send some of your 'soldiers' out for me? Fine! Send away! In fact, I'll make it easy for you to find me!"

* * *

"...easy for you to find me!"

The small group of ten armed men and women stopped.

"You hear that?" one amongst them asked, each in turn looking and surveying the area.

"It came from over there." another said, a man, gesturing ahead. "Eight-o'clock. Sharp."

"Well, let's go!" the same woman from before hissed. "The sooner he's done with whatever he's doing out here, the less chance we'll have at actually getting to him!"

There was no argument in that, no one needing to be reminded on just how fortunate they all were right now in even getting this close to the suspected individual they were now tailing. Still, even as they traveled along, one among them, the very one that had unintentionally served as the catalyst for the formation of this small search party, couldn't help but ponder whether or not she or the others were getting themselves into something they were better off leaving alone. If the Commander's own account of what took place aboard the Ark is what indeed occurred, verbatim.

'Then again,' she pondered, her concealed eyes catching an object illuminated by the sparse bits of moonlight seeping in through the thicket of branches and leaves above. 'Maybe he'll be a little more accommodating to us. Maybe.'

* * *

"Assuming you're not just fabricating this entire thing, then go on and send one of your 'soldiers' here to meet me! Better yet, why not send some of your more 'recent births', seeing as you sounded sooo proud of them!"

Silence.

"Unless you want me to come and find you myself, a task that you've just made exponentially more difficult." his reddened eyes scanned around him once again. Odd, in a way, that he'd be out here, actually TRYING to draw attention to himself. "Because should I...no, when I find you, I'll see to it that the threat you threw my way is paid back in full. And it'll be in such a way where you will WISH that the power of the Emeralds could make quick."

Yet more silence.

"I-"

 **THUMP**

Shadow's voice died in his throat. The possibility of the sound being little more than some of the natural inhabitants died along with it, his ears twitching at the suddenness of it. No, this step held a good degree of weight to it. And even more, despite himself, he found himself growing more and more tense upon realizing that the once abundant ambience of the night was steadily lessening to where the only source of sound was his own breath.

 **THUMP**

They were drawing closer, the forest bathed in near complete darkness, yet the sounds seemed to completely overpower all of his other senses. This not helped by the fact that there appeared to be not jus one, but several sources.

 **THUMP**

Then again...what was he concerned over? He had asked for this. 'Looks like Death is at least not a total fool.' He could still feel no pull or draw, so if anything, the hooded being was simply doing this to save face. Fine then, his lies could be dealt with later. Shadow readied himself, preparing to come face to face with the visage of a bulky, slim-waisted, dim-witted evolutionary dead end and its companions, each marked for a demise by his hands.

"Freeze!"

Only to have one of them speak perfect English. And to emerge from behind a tree, garbed in both human skin and human clothing. Not even just that, several others garbed in the same fashion began popping out from all around him, weapons drawn and slowly inching closer, regarding the smaller creature as if he were some volatile, unpredictable animal. Upon realizing just whom they were however, the Ultimate Lifeform grimaced.

"Stay where you are, and don't move." another one amongst the small collection of gun wielding humans ordered, voice evidently far more feminine than the last, the group drawing in closer, Shadow seeing that they were intending to draw closer still. "This doesn't have to get nasty unless you want it to."

His first instinct was to run, the flares in his shoes thrusters already heating up, yet another voice that belonged amongst this lot, ironically enough, told him otherwise. 'You're on a tight leash already.' the ivory bat's words repeated over and over again, Shadow, even if he absolutely despised doing so, forced each and every part of himself, pride and instincts blaring out orders to not even deal with these goons, to the back burner, the GUN troops having fully encircled him.

"A little late for an evening stroll, isn't it?" the one that had ordered him to 'freeze' spoke, trying to keep his gaze on the ebony hedgehog, whom, in turn, was presenting him with quite the intense stare down. "Well, isn't it?" he repeated, the darned visor doing little to help lessen the effects of the alien hybrid's own gaze.

Finally, said hybrid answered. "Could ask the same for yourselves."

The woman that had spoken after the first man interjected. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Again, could ask the same for yourselves."

"Hey, we're here on official business, buddy!" a man, different from the first one, responded, more than a little offended at the Ultimate Lifeform's quipping (Ultimate, more like Ultimately Short, he thought). "If anyone has any sort of jurisdiction to be here, it's us!"

"Oh, I wasn't aware that this was a 'private' collection of trees and dirt. I suppose you have papers for it and everything?"

"We've already have enough going on right now, so the last thing we need is you sneaking on around here like some sort of-"

"Then why are you here?"

"We saw you pass on by-" another voice from amongst the group (ten from what Shadow could see) began before being promptly silenced by an elbow to the gut. The scene went silent once again.

"You've already let it out now." Shadow stated, gesturing towards the one that was cut off, a dark braid draped over her upper shoulder. "Might as well finish it."

Despite the thickened visors concealing the upper portion of their faces, the gritting of teeth alerted him that they NOT pleased with what one of their own had just let slip out. "We…" the loudmouth began, Shadow immediately picking up on her trepidation. And she apparently noticed him studying her, she in turn quickly pulling herself together, standing upright in a rigid, stalwart pose that made it obvious she was trying to make herself appear all large and dominating. "We noticed you pass by our RoN site at ten-hundred hours in quite a hurry." she winced somewhat upon realizing what she had just said, the hedgehog himself quirking a brow at her statement. "And seeing as your history is…" she paused, biting her lip. "Well, basically, we're wondering what for and why you're here."

"I can answer that for you." Shadow promptly stated, the uniformed woman's facade breaking the moment she heard his words.

"R-Really? Ok, that's great. I, we knew that you'd see reason-"

"It has nothing to do with, let alone is it anything I'm willing to share with the likes of you."

She immediately shut up, rendered quite speechless.

"All right," another begna speaking, a man that strode right up to the black hedgehog, despite the silent protests and shaking heads of his comrades. "Listen here, you spliced up, screwed up, alien freak." no one said a word, though it was a general consensus that the man had just done something incredibly stupid. "We've got ourselves a little bit of troubling news earlier, news that-"

"You don't plan on telling me because, ah, yes, it's none of my business?" Shadow interrupted, tone oddly curt, but his lips were tightened with fury

"Think you're REAL cute, don't you?" the soldier snarled, now no more than mere inches from the hedgehog, Shadow's form stiffening as his eyes noticed just how close the barrel of his rifle was to his tanned muzzle. "Well, I can get REAL cute too, freak." the tip of the barrel brushed against his nose.

"I didn't come here to be bothered by you lot."

"Then why did you come?" the human reached forward and put a hand on Shadow's shoulder, the black blur immediately dislodging it.

"Don't touch me!"

"Listen, this isn't what we were sent here to do-" a woman amongst them began, yet her words held no effect on her fellow soldier.

"From the sound of it, your being here is around the same time that we get wind of something weird going on...sounds like a BIG coincidence, huh?"

* * *

There he was.

And there they were. More of them.

The figures hidden in the thickened canopy above watched the exchange continue on, eyes locked on to either the smaller, less traditionally delivered offspring and the walking sacks of meat surrounding him.

One amongst the concealed band gave out a low, gurgled hiss, the others in turn obeying and readjusting their positions.

They would watch, but just for a short while longer. Seeing as how things were progressing down there, it wouldn't be long before one of them would unknowingly give them the signal to go in.

* * *

"I don't owe you any sort of answer." Shadow responded, the human trying to make a grab at him again, of which the hedgehog responded to with a harsher shove. "Nor do you have any privilege to put your hands on me!"

"Hey." one of the men in the group of ten whispered to another beside him. "Is it just me, or have things gotten a little...quieter?"

The other man paused, trying to block out his more assertive comrade's banter with Project Shadow. After a short few moments, he found that, yes, the once teeming environment had indeed gone deathly silent. Normally though, such a thing was a for sure sign that either the weather or that a large predator was nearby.

"I think we need to hurry this up. I don't like this one bit."

"If you've got nothing to hide, then you'll have no problem coming back to the site!" Shadow's aggressor bellowed, the hedgehog's eyes finding themselves fixated on the weapon. "Unless you actually WANT to tangle with us, then fine by me. Your call."

The Ultimate Lifeform said nothing, ruby irises seemingly entranced by the black, empty abyss that resided within the rifle's barrel.

"Well?"

Shadow didn't respond at first, even as the soldier put his hands on the smaller hedgehog's shoulder and gave him a good shake. Finally, it seemed, he had garnered something of a response from him. "...you're not them."

"Hm?"

"You're not them."

"The heck you talking about-"

"YOU'RE NOT THEM!"

He hadn't meant to drop it. If anything, that was the last thing he would've ever done. Yet as he felt the streaked hedgehog's hand push against his chest, the human man found that for a brief instant, he lost contact with the ground.

SLAM!

And came to meet it once again in the form of a thickened, aged tree trunk against his back, and the dirt floor as he slid down.

* * *

The humans began congregating around their fallen comrade, their former object of interest scampering off into the forest.

They were puzzled by this turn of events: the bond had yet to be reignited to its maximum (as maximum as it could get for the smaller spawn), and yet he was going off as if he had just felt its draw yet again.

Blasted meat bags. They might've just up and caused more difficulty. Still, all the same, they would be able to rectify this error of theirs soon enough.

The humans began, after some arguing among themselves, this only heightened by the fact that their communication devices seemed to be ineffective, they seemingly decided to split themselves up. Five began going in the direction they had gone before, whilst the others pursued the hedgehog.

Oh no, this was not the plan.

They had just made it easier for them.

 **Note: I have to admit, this shorter chapter format is really easier on me, as I feel that things don't drag on for too long, and I don't wear myself out to where writing becomes a slog to go through. Anyhow, OC introduction time (sort of), and for readers of the previous version, Octavia is relatively the same, yet I have added/tweaked a few things, so that things hopefully flow a little better. Also, while I don't want to make it too obvious or give out the answer right away, maybe some of you noticed how I don't really detail the GUN soldiers' eyes, in that they're either wearing goggles or have them covered up? Just a heads up, this will play into the story later. Not in an enormously big way, but hopefully in a way where it can be picked up on.  
**

 **That said, here's hoping that you enjoyed, and that I've enticed you enough to come back later! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 3-Struggle

**Note: Next chapter here! This one, I admit, moves a little slow compared to the last ones, yet I assure you that what is detailed here WILL be important in the future, both in characterization, as well as themes. That said, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3-Struggle**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

"He's on the move."

"Yes, I'm more than aware."

Black Death went silent, the ambience of the chamber once again reigning supreme, the small droplets echoing rhythmically, the one he was currently in the presence of ironically likening them to the ticks of a clock.

"If I may-"

"That depends."

"...why do you only partially project your influence out?" Death questioned. "Would it not be more beneficial to keep it going? It'd certainly allow him to find you quicker."

The small, nearly lightless space went silent again, the hooded Arms member beginning to regret what had just came from him.

"...this is to be a savored occasion." the voice of his Breeder growled. "The time is nigh, my dearest Death. Our time in the shadows of this miserable ball of dirt and water have come to an end. And soon, it shall be the ones that drove us to conceal ourselves in the deep crevices of the world who will be living in terror!" Death could feel it, his parent's elation was nothing short of intoxicating, all encompassing. Indeed, the dangers he himself had faced upon first arriving here were more than taken into account. And even then, a slew of other unexpected hazards came his way. In this, his efforts, his very journeying here, was all about to pay off.

At least, he hoped so.

"But," his Breeder began again. "It will be for not if he is not accounted for." the urge to ask, to question why did come, yet Death didn't indulge it. "I want all that is rightfully mine to be with us when this dirt ball is converted into a paradise." a low snarl escaped him, a single, golden eye illuminating some of the every encompassing shadows. "I want HIM."

 **A Distance Away**

He wasn't there.

He wasn't aboard.

He was here, on Earth.

The ground beneath his feet and the plethora of flourishing flora surrounding, enclosing him from every direction was enough proof of that. And even more, the sensation of a hand clasping his own wasn't there.

'Can't go too fast. Can't do it. I'll hurt her by accident.'

Still, even with this, Shadow found that his senses, let alone his very perception, refused to accept any of these factors. The environment steadily grew unstable and ever changing, the once encompassing darkness of the dense collection of trees transitioning in and out between that and a series of well lit, winding hallways. And the brief moments a window passed him by, it was very clear that he was nowhere where such a large source of plant life could flourish.

'But they're coming! They're coming, and they've shown they're willing to kill!'

He continued racing through the forest, his ears filled with the sound of pounding boots against flooring, her steps but a few steps behind him. 'Go!' the Professor's words rang in his mind. 'Go! Don't let them catch you! Protect her with your life!'

'Protect her with your life!'

'Protect her with your life!'

'Protect her…'

'...your life…'

"GAH!" he had slipped. The snag on his left foot, along with his collision with the ground brought the darkly furred hedgehog fully back to reality. And the sudden, semi-metallic taste of soil and dead leaves on his tongue simply served as the coup-de-gras. A low snarl escaped from his lips as he hoisted himself up, his gloved hand resting against the aged trunk of a tree, said tree being the 'owner' of the root that had caused him to fall in the first place. And from the looks of it, said tree also appeared to reach quite the considerable height.

 **A Distance Away**

"What in the world was THAT about?"

He rolled his eyes yet again. "It's not like I outright expected him to freak out like that!" suffice to say, the other man that asked said question wasn't exactly satisfied with such an answer. "Heck did he mean by the 'you're not them' spiel?"

Another among them simply sighed, shaking her head. "Either way, now we've got to chase him down."

"What!? No way! We'd never be able to!" another feminine voice asked amongst the halved group of armed humans, her black braid draped over her shoulder. "Not now anyway, he's long gone."

"Then we go and find him." the other woman soldier stated. "Situation or no, we were given orders, and that's what we're going to follow to the letter."

"Are you that stupid?" the ebony hedgehog's former instigator hissed, apparently having more to say about the former's protest. She in turn parted her lips to speak, yet he cut in. "No, no, seriously, answer me that. Are you REALLY that stupid?"

"No I am NOT!" she retorted. "I'm just saying that, well, we're basically running a fool's errand here, aren't we?" she saw his features begin to contort. "I-I mean, not saying that it isn't something we SHOULDN'T be doing, but, well, I just don't think we can. Like...that guy's just about as fast as THE Sonic the Hedgehog you know?"

Silence fell between them, she beginning to regret opening her mouth at all. "Fine. Go back."

"What, no. I'm just-"

"No, no, of course, you're right." he continued. "Go back, and tell the Sarge that it was 'too hard'. That we've only been out here for an hour, but no, that's enough searching for us! We're never going to catch a possible person of interest now. Yeah, bet that'd look REAL great in the report, Squeaker."

She went silent, her upper canines coming to bite the inside of her lower lip. There was no way though, she thought. No feasible way that they could catch him now! Not without some sort of aerial view. Yet even then, God only knew where he'd be by then, if he'd even still be here! Heck, coming out here in its entirety was completely pointless and unneeded in her book! They were all better off going back to camp and reporting their current situation!

Go back and tell the Sarge that they had failed.

'It…' she mused, all of them still searching, not that there was much point. 'It's not like it's MY fault. Barrel's the one that screwed everything up.' she mentally snarled, turning her gaze towards the combative soldier in question, a scowl forming on her face. Though when he noticed such, he presented one that made hers pale in comparison, she turning away immediately. 'Sarge...he...he'd understand. I could just...explain it to him, and he'd…'

They had failed.

'It...the report would actually look good on my part. I was the one who reported seeing him in the first place. Sarge…' no, not her Sergeant. Someone of higher authority emerged in her mind. 'He...he would...understand. I mean...he'd have to.'

She had failed-

"I see him! Up there! Thirteen o'clock!"

Everyone dropped everything, the five, the instigator and 'Squeaker' included, turning their heads in the direction that one of their own was gesturing to. It was faint, and the pines concealed a good amount from them, yet a few of them fell from their former places to the ground, indicating that something was moving up there.

"No, he's over at sixteen!"

In unison, they all turned in the next suspected direction. More pines fell, though, whether due to the distance or a more graceful landing, an audible cracking and movement of branches could be heard. And whilst none of them were entirely sure, the small squad didn't exactly think the black hedgehog weighed THAT much.

CREAK

Fourteen o'clock now.

CREAK

Nineteen.

...nothing.

Nothing but the still, silent landscape of the forest around them. Octavia found herself shaking her head, trying to keep stalwart in front of the others (let alone keep from saying something else stupid), yet the beads of cold sweat on her brow were already forming. 'I don't like this…'

 **?**

"The remaining humans have noticed-"

"I'm more than aware. And I would've believed that you of all beings would've known that such was of little consequence now." Death averted his gaze from the lone, golden optic shimmering in the shadows. "If anything, this will serve for the beginning of our grand reveal."

"Still…" the hooded Arms member began, halfway beginning to regret saying anything at all from the look he was receiving. "The others that were taken had to be returned to ease potential suspicion. In part."

"...and what makes this case any different?"

"Breeder, I do not mean to imply that-"

"No, no, please, enlighten me. How, and why, is this any different?"

The cavern was silent once again.

"Truly, what good is going over the same material over and over again, my child?" the owner of the eye cooed, Death almost taken aback by the overall smoothness of his voice. "What's the point of all this strife?" the other said nothing still. "Still, if it would better assure you that there truly is nothing to fret over," the golden eye closed, Death suddenly aware of a familiar pull that emitted from his most inner being, though this projection, even if he sensed it, it was clear in whom it was truly for. "I don't see any harm in giving him a little hint or two."

 **Distance Away**

Running blind, that's all he had been doing thus far is running blind! And if not that, then running away from a hoard of black, red eyed demons, all the while trying to escort the young girl with him to some sort of potential haven or escape.

And then, only to realize that none of it had been real.

If not for the risk of making his presence known, Shadow would've had no problem in delivering a solid punch or kick to the sturdy bark of the tall, natural 'structure' he was forced to take sanctuary in. His pursuers may've not been garbed in black, yet there was little separation between that lot and this one now, especially given what they had just forced him to do.

'Fools.' he mentally snarled, clenched fist trembling at the mere thought of them all. 'Nothing more than a collection of unintelligent, soulless fools, they are!'

CREAK

"Hm?" despite the initial thought that came to him, Shadow knew better than to truly believe on of those idiots had actually managed to climb their way up here. Somewhat a pity, as now, the thought of sending said imaginary climb down to land right on top of their fellow comrades was especially delicious. But no, this, whatever it was-

CREAK

...was right up with him. And bore a considerable amount of weight in comparison to him, let alone a human.

An image came to him, though he quickly banished it. He had been running blind like and idiot long enough, chasing after literal shadows, and now had those insufferable GUN troops on his tail! The last thing Shadow felt like doing was going and getting himself into even trouble that, ultimately, he had put himself in. Yet still...he was going to find that hooded mongrel. Death, he was the one responsible for all of this. That stupid 'pull' or 'urge' or whatever it was, he had been playing this game with him for long enough!

"Take you out." the Ultimate Lifeform snarled, his eyes all the while scanning the area around him, the shuffling and creaking of the branches ceasing entirely. "Take you, and whomever else you sent out here out, then I'll-"

'That's a rather extreme reaction, is it not?' the world around him froze and went silent, save for the still, rhythmic beating of his heart. 'Is it not, after all, what you asked for?'

Just then, he heard it. "You said that you'd send some of your 'soldiers' out for me? Fine! Send away! In fact, I'll make it easy for you to find me!" His own words playing back to him.

'Well, here you are. As promised.' the low, guttural voice echoing in his mind chuckled. 'Although, I'm not ready yet to reveal to you their... 'new look' as of yet.'

Death...Death's voice, while it bore some similarities...it was undeniably different. It was it's own in comparison to what, or whom he was currently hearing in his-

"No." Shadow simply answered, averting his gaze from what was ahead of him, as if a pair of eyes were boring down at him from on high.

'No?'

"You're not him." the hedgehog hissed his gloved hand gripping the branch he stood upon, to his shame, beginning to lightly tremble. "You're not-"

'Who? Who am I not?' the voice crooned, Shadow wishing to answer, yet found his tongue refused to cooperate. 'Still well versed in denial, I see. Though don't misunderstand, I don't take offense to your disbelief. If anything, it simply makes the anticipation of when we finally are reunited all the more savory.'

So much, there was so much that he wanted to say, yet all he found himself able to do was part his lips and release a slew of soft, almost nonexistent huffs and breaths.

CREAK

'They will not draw near you. Not unless you make it necessary to. Yes, they will follow, but they have no reason to try and harm you. Yet.'

"Black Do-" the coal black blur stopped himself. "Black Death, as half-decent as your impersonation is, this farce has long lost any sense of amusement."

The voice, (not) his voice, was silent for a moment or two, yet when it finally emerged yet again, it seemed to be nothing more than brimming with excitement at the hedgehog's implied course of actions he was planning to execute. 'Then go on with your original plan.' it…'he' (even if it WASN'T) said. 'You have no desire to dilly-dally, and I have exhausted that privilege. You've proven that you need no goading in your pursuit of anything relating to your own kind. Thus, I shall provide you a clear pathway.'

"My kind? They are not my-" Shadow began, yet a tightness in his chest cavity stopped him mid sentence. And despite the difficulty in seeing the outlines of the figures that had undoubtedly collected and gathered around him a short distance away (above and below as well?), the streaked speedster felt the fibers of his fur rise, the skin beneath becoming consumed with the telltale bumps of gooseflesh.

They were watching. Watching him. Watching and waiting for and on him.

'You believe only your eyes? Then, I shall provide such.' as if by sheer instinct, Shadow looked out ahead of him, the dark, claustrophobic environment of the collection of trees steadily becoming less and less intimidating. For what he was searching for, what he had come for...it was here. Somewhere. 'Come then. Come follow me.'

 **Short Time Later, a Distance Away**

Faster.

Her boots pounded against the ground, treading the uneven ground of dirt and twisting roots.

Got to go faster.

Shots of live ammo rang throughout the now silent landscape, the natural inhabitants of the forest taking cover from the unseen predators they had sensed long before any of the hapless humans did.

Got to go even faster than that.

"MOVE!" a shove to her back propelled her a foot or two, the one that had shoved her rushing past her, just about nearly knocking her over. Barrel. An urge to sling curses at him came to her, yet she knew it would ultimately be useless, not to mention be lost in her and everyone else's panting.

Go fast. Go fast, keep running, don't dare look back. Far from a creative mantra, yet at the moment, it was serving its purpose.

"They're all around us!" a woman amongst them shrieked, unloading a few rounds at the vague shape not but a few feet from them.

Octavia and the band of ten found themselves surrounded on all sides, and yet, none of them could clearly distinguish as to whether or not any of their pursuers were drawing closer to them per say. They couldn't even completely describe what they looked like! Whatever they were, it was obvious that they were more than a little intuned with the encompassing darkness around them, practically masters of making use of it. For even when she or one of her fellow troops had managed to catch sight of one of them, it, for lack of a better word, 'disappeared', only to pop back up either a few feet ahead or a few yards. It wouldn't have surprised anyone if some of them were waiting a mile or two from where they were currently hightailing it out of here, or at least attempting to.

"Which way back to the site?!"

Which way indeed. These hidden creatures had destroyed their sense of direction completely, the entire forest becoming a winding, twisting road that lead in hundreds of different directions on either side, yet even if one amongst them could conjure up the directions on how they came to be here in this part of the woods, it wouldn't have mattered. None of them dare try, yet it was puzzling that their pursuers hadn't up and tried attacking them yet. Chase them, yes, keep them going forward, oh God, yes, everyone's limbs were practically on fire at this point. But not once had any one of the far off shapes come near them to strike.

It was then, to her horror, that Octavia remembered.

'Like they just decided that I was the one to be left alone. Like they maybe wanted me to…'

 **Above**

'...they're herding me.'

While it wasn't exactly the terminology he would've used normally, judging from what he was seeing as he continued forward, Shadow found he couldn't deny that a particular phenomenon was taking place. The shapes moved with him, his red eyes able to spot them in various directions and heights all around him, yet even if they were a short distance ahead, they never made their move.

'Well...to an extent, I got my wish.' the Ultimate Lifeform thought, continuing with his pursuit of Black Death (NOT Doom), all the while what he could only assume to be some of the leftovers of last time sticking by close enough, but just enough.

Still, even with the distance, Shadow knew well that, had these indeed been the fortunate few that had survived, they weren't as they had been before. The shapes appeared to embrace, dare he say, outright revel in the ambiguity and suspicion they radiated, they themselves barely, if at all visible in this darkened night. But at brief moments, Shadow managed to catch it: whether a jump from one tree or branch was considered too much of a risk, or perhaps they had once again wished to make him even more cautious, the shapes began to emit what he could only describe as colored lights from all over their bodies.

Very familiar colored lights.

His focus on keeping balanced from tree to tree put sitting and viewing them on the backburner, yet surely the Ultimate Lifeform was capable of multitasking, he thought. Thus, to the best of his ability, whenever he could spare it, he viewed one of the figures whenever the area around him had gotten just a small bit brighter.

Only for horrid comprehension to begin settling in.

Their phasing in and out, the colored lights, the very colors themselves...he knew what this was. He was no stranger to this. But...but that...that was impossible! That was impossible! If he was seeing what he believed to be seeing, then how was it that all of them were with them?! All at the same time-

"GAH!

He had caught it in the corner of his eye, a flash of hot, orange light coming his way. He was no stranger to this either. Though, to his shock and dismay, Shadow had not a moment to react, dodge, let alone brace himself for the energy's projection.

Mainly because its target had not been the hedgehog himself. He discovered this the second the scent of charred wood came to his nostrils, and the once stable platform below him collapsed under his feet.

It was impossible, or rather, he simply wished it to be, yet as he found himself descending, he could've sworn that one of those things had just performed 'Chaos Spear.'.

 **Below**

She fell hard to the ground, not on her stomach, but on her rear. Mainly due to the one in front of her having stopped.

"What are you doing? Run-MPH!" Octavia began to hollar, only for a hand to clamp over her mouth.

"Shut up." the woman that had silenced her commanded. "Look. What do you see?"

Still more than a little indignant, Octavia's concealed eyes scoured the area around them. "Nmmph-thmph." she had then noticed the hand still on her mouth, she in turn prying it off. "Nothing."

The other woman nodded. "Exactly." though her tone far from emitted any sense of assurance or comfort.

Once again, the group found themselves to perhaps be the only living things foolish (or more fittingly, unlucky enough) to be out in the open on a night such as this. Scarcely were there any other sounds that indicated some small presence of natural fauna nearby, not even the abundant insects that must've roosted here made a peep. Their pursuers hadn't left them, at least not entirely.

CRASH!

Something had landed just by.

SNAP!

And from the sound of it, either broke or sprained something at the very least.

The small band of GUN soldiers wasted no time, rushing to the source of the sudden shatterer of silence, only to find themselves face to face with someone that was definitely more than a little familiar to them.

"You!" Shadow's head was throbbing, yet, regrettably at the moment, his ears appeared to be functioning fine. "Heck do you think you're doing?!"

The hedgehog was about to answer as he rose, yet a sharp stab emitting from the lower part of his left leg kept him mostly on the ground.

"Well?"

"Can't you see I have something MORE pressing to deal with at the moment?!" Shadow snarled at the frightened and clearly annoyed man, he clenching his teeth as he steadily rose upward, mainly using the trunk of a nearby tree for support. "Unless it's foreign to you, when someone falls a good distance, there's bound to be some damage-ah!" alright, any sort of weight on that leg meant pain. "As...you can clearly see." the hedgehog explained through strained words and clenched teeth.

A majority of the humans went silent at that, quietly observing the newly entered and clearly injured speedster, though the ebony rodent's response seemed to invoke more than just puzzlement and shock. "What were you doing up there in the first place?"

Shadow sighed, having a hunch as to where this was probably leading. "Certainly not looking to run into you lot, that's for sure."

Another approached him, the hedgehog recognizing the man immediately. "Not too sure if I believe that." oh lovely. The same one that had up and 'interrogated' him earlier.

"And you're under the impression I care anything about what you may or may not believe." he began to turn, yet a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Looks like you took a pretty nasty fall." the man said, looking up to the small sections of night sky visible in between the thick brambles above. "Mind telling us what you WERE doing up there?"

"Barrel, please-"

"Shut it." the man, presumably 'Barrel', hissed. "Time to drop the whole 'civility' act. It's obvious why this little Frankenstein's monster is here!" before Shadow could even utter on how dare this brainless neanderthal say such a thing to him, the human continued. "Those things begin following us RIGHT when this guy takes off! You heard it yourself!" he proclaimed to his fellow men and women. 'Come and find me!', that's what you said, right?" he questioned Shadow, though it was clear that no answer he could provide would convince him otherwise. "And then, this mutated alien rat just so happens to pop back up right when those guys decide to disappear." Barrel drew close to Shadow, the bridge of his nose but mere inches away from the infuriated Ultimate Lifeform. "REALLY big coincidence, isn't it?"

The coal black blur's ruby eyes narrowed, his gloved hand dislodging the man's from his shoulder. "I reiterate my former statement. As well as how my reason being here has nothing to do with you."

"That's a fat load, and you know it." Barrel retorted. "But hey, maybe those other guys that've been tailing us are just-" Shadow cursed himself, instantly hunkering down on the sudden surge of shock his features just expressed. Yet given from the human's own expression, it was clear he was too late. "Ah, so you DO know what I'm talking about."

'Do you need any more convincing?'

Shadow cursed himself, the widening of his eyes surely read by this human as some sort of confirmation.

'Did Death not tell you that this would occur? And now look what's happened. Or, excuse me, I forgot. You still don't believe that it's me you hear, even now.'

"Cut the crap." Barrel's voice growled, placing his hands on Shadow's shoulders yet again. "You've got something to do with all this, so if you're not in the mood to be chased halfway around the world, I'd suggest you start singing."

"In case you weren't aware, those 'things' were up there, chasing me as well!" the hedgehog spat out, gesturing to the branches above him. "In fact, it was one of them that caused my fall!"

"Anyone tell you that you're a terrible liar?" Barrel coyly responded, though it was clear that he was just seconds from reaching his boiling point.

"And has anyone informed you that you and the rest of these buffoons have brain damage? Because unless it's standard for GUN to perform a full frontal lobotomy upon entry, there's no feasible way you lot can be that stupid." while not exactly the most appropriate time, Shadow couldn't help but feel a good sense of satisfaction at seeing the man's features twist and contort before him. "Then again, seeing as you probably only have a basic education, you wouldn't even know what a 'lobotomy' is, would you-" his words were cut off by something seizing his throat and lifting him up, his back forced up against the trunk of the tree. Said hand belonging to the one that had just heard enough of the smaller hybrid's talk.

"Oh, I know WELL what lobotomies are, freak." Barrel snarled, he in turn raising the namesake of his weapon towards Shadow's larger head. "And if not for the Sarge's orders, I'd have no problem giving you one right NOW-"

WHACK!

Even with his thickened garments, the human had to admit: the darned rat gave a kick that'd give any mule a run for their money.

Landing into another soldier with a 'thud!', Barrel leapt up whilst the others rushed over to their crushed, yet still aware comrade. Having still maintained a hold on his weapon, the soldier aimed and began releasing a barrage of live ammo in the hedgehog's general direction, only to find his shots tearing through the thickened, aged bark of the tree. Having leapt upward, Shadow kicked off the upper portion of the trunk with his (currently) good foot, the sole of his shoe making direct contact with Barrel's face, knocking the man off his feet and flying back, ironically enough into the very one he had crashed into before.

"Hey!" Shadow whirled around to see another one of the ten humans approaching him, apparently more than just a little angry that one (technically two) of his comrades had just been assaulted. "Freeze!" he commanded, raising his weapon up in the smaller creature's direction.

"Think we're way past that point!" another cried out, this one a woman. Soon, all troops that were standing pointed their guns at the ebony hedgehog, though if he had seen correctly, one amongst them seemed to only follow suit due to everyone else.

Hmph, whatever, Shadow concluded. It mattered not, as frankly, he wasn't willing to tolerate anymore interruptions. This darned 'pull'...it was maddening, and then these clowns just insisted on making it worse!

'No more worse than your continuing denial of my existence.'

"Shut...up!" the Ultimate Lifeform roared, dodging the gunfire that came towards him not a moment too soon, realizing just how close he had come to foolishly letting himself be damaged.

From his position on the side of the human that had just fired, he leapt forward and knocked the soldier back, though his landing wasn't exactly as graceful, having unintentionally landed on his injured leg.

'Healing fast does not necessarily translate to healing immediately. Too bad for you.'

A considerable amount of weight threw itself atop of him, an arm attempting to get around his throat for better leverage. Thankfully for him, upon lifting him up somewhat, the hedgehog was able to curl up into a ball and launch himself forward, hitting the man right in his abdomen, forcing him to the ground.

'I will tell you this, their being here will be of service to us all.'

"I'm getting real sick of hearing you spout nonsense!" Shadow shouted, far from caring of how he appeared before the still standing humans at this point. From the few faces he did manage to catch, it was clear they all thought he was either screwing around or was just outright crazy. Another soldier came in at him, the hedgehog ducking and delivering a solid kick to his backside, causing him to tumble and roll down the slightly elevated level of earth.

'Then do something about it. Make them stop. Make me stop.'

"Gladley!"

Shadow was about to leap forward, a hand reaching for him only to be swatted away. When it tried reaching again, along with another pair, he leapt up and the two humans landed atop of one another instead. How many more came at him, he had lost track. The urge and draw, along with Death's (NOT Doom's) taunting voice had made him wish more than ever that just ONE Emerald was nearby!

'Our new births…'

He paused in his retaliation against the humans that simply insisted to come near when it had been made CLEAR he was done with all of this. Shadow looked towards the ones still standing, two he counted. And the ones he had knocked down were already more than eager to get back up and try again. He had an opening now, and bad leg or not, the jet shoes would at least keep him a few steps ahead, given he was somewhat elevated off the ground when using them. He'd just have to be careful in the distribution of his weight.

Better the pull to deal with than the humans. At least he could make sure the former wouldn't bother him ever again.

He took off-

"YAH!"

"WHA?!"

-just when he became aware that a sudden mass had just forced itself upon his back, wrapping their arms around his neck to keep ahold of him.

 **?**

"He draws nearer."

"Once again, I'm more than aware."

'Of course you are.' Death was tempted to allow slip through his mind, yet said thought was then loaded and crushed with a slew of other bits and pieces of various, nonsensical blabbering and conjectures that were arguably the least offensive and most guaranteed to not stir a reaction. 'He' was always potentially listening.

"Are you sure that you want those humans to find this place?" the robbed alien questioned.

"You suggest any other means of protecting and accommodating my newest dear ones?"

"...well, there ARE others besides the humans that will inevitably wish to put a stop to our acquisition."

He was prepared for something to tumble from the other being's 'lips' in a sense. A chastisement, a dismissal, even some sort of reassurance that would quell his tensions but for a short time before the anxieties and fears once again reigned in his heart and mind. Instead, however, Death found that the one above him had gone silent. As if he were...actually contemplating what the hooded figure had just suggested.

"Not now." the low voice spoke, thought from the signals he was sharing with the other, it was clear that Death's suggestion was not simply being tossed aside. "It's too soon to attempt something so drastic. More time is needed. However…" the concealed figure turned to his child, a golden glow emitting from what appeared to be a single, solitary eye. "It will be something to keep in mind."

 **Distance Away**

He couldn't have gotten too far. Or rather, 'far' in that, had his leg not currently needed to be handled gently, the band of GUN troops would've held no chance in catching up to him. But no. No, no, no, no, no. Things simply REFUSED to go in his favor!

"STOP!"

And it that wasn't enough, he now had this runt hijacking him and refusing to let go!

"Hey, did you hear me!?" the female latched onto him shouted, Shadow wincing due to her head being in a rather close proximity to his ear. "Stop!" she commanded again.

Despite the shrieking banshee,the Ultimate Lifeform held no intention on stopping. If anything, the fact she was able to still hold onto him was even more of a reason to try and increase his speed. Had he been running at his normal rhythm, the loudmouth wench would've been sent flying back right into one of several trees that surrounded the both of them. And even more, now that one of their own had up and decided to hitch a ride with him, the rest of those blasted GUN troops were sure to come now! As if they didn't have enough of a reason to already aside from the fact that they didn't like the fact he was here, minding what was supposed to be HIS own business!

"Pull over!" the banshee commanded yet again, her grip slackening, yet her arms weren't the only support she had, her assault rifle held in her right hand, the side being pressed into Shadow's throat. It was clear that she was fighting a losing battle, yet still, she seemed determined to hang on at the very least, her legs dangling useless behind her, her upper half serving as the only thing keeping her from being cast off of the black blur's back.

It was then, just when he realized he had been granted an opportunity.

"S-Seriously! Stop!" and, unknowingly, so had she. 'I'm not feeling too hot…'

Just ahead of them both was a sturdy, solid tree, the trunk thick and clearly durable. Well, durable enough for what Shadow had planned for. Yet as they drew closer and closer, reminding himself to make the turn on his good foot, a low, rumbling sound came to meet his ears.

"Stop! Or...or you're going to regret-"

Yet by the time both of them realized what, let alone why said sound was present, it was all too late.

"BLUEGH!"

Whether it was the sudden, overwhelming scent of some acidic substance or the sensation of warm, viscous fluid on him, Shadow knew not, yet the results would have essentially been the same. Completely consumed with outright disgust at what he believed his hijacker had just done, he had been distracted long enough to completely realize that he was heading straight towards the tree he had planned to make a sharp turn at.

SLAM!

Only now, it wasn't just the human that had just slammed into it.

Her helmet took most of the blow, yet given the speed that they were going (even if it paled in comparison to the hedgehog's true capabilities), that far from meant either she or the one doing the running suffered no damage. The impact scrambled both their senses, sending them tumbling over each other as they fell to the ground, finally seperating from the other at last.

"Ugh…" far from completely one-hundred-percent, a firm, hard shake of his head at least got Shadow back to being aware enough. "UGH!" unfortunately, it also made him aware that a small amount of freshly released vomit had clung to his cheek, of which he quickly disposed of with a swipe of his hand. Thank heavens for gloves.

"Oh, sick…" a low, pained groan came from but a few feet from him, the hijacker having regained some of her senses as well. Thankfully for him, her arm and weapon were far more coated with her own bile and stomach acid than he was. He wasn't even going to go take a look at the tree to make sure where the rest of it went. It didn't take long for her attention to steer from her own fluids to the one she had been pursuing, realizing just how close the two of them were now. "You!" the young woman proclaimed, struggling to her feet, her legs unsteady even as she stood up. "Don't...don't move."

If it weren't for just how much trouble she and the rest of her infuriating colleagues insisted on causing him, Shadow would've potentially considered her attempt to appear intimidating humorous, though it was embarrassing regardless.

"You…" she began, he beginning to walk away. Running would've been the preferable option, yet after that little 'headbutt', he needed a few moments to recuperate before making a go for it again. "Hey!" he started to turn to face his pursuer, only to feel a hand clasp his wrist and forcibly turn him around herself. "No more running. You have to come with us." He didn't answer, merely wrangling his arm out of her grip. "Didn't you hear me? You HAVE to come with us! That means we have orders to take you in for questioning!" she made a grab for him again." And unless you want to make things even worse than they already are, then you'll-"

Any further words died in her throat, the air quite literally being forced out of her by the swift kick she received to her abdomen.

Upon seeing her hit the ground and roll over to ease her stomach (as well as what sliver of ego she had), Shadow gave his head yet another shake and tested his foot, applying just the slightest amount of pressure to gauge whether or not the pain had lessened.

CLICK!

Not exactly. Though that particular sound indicated that his unwanted company was not yet done with him. Lo and behold, there she was, rifle in hand, aimed right at him. "Last chance." she told him, voice somewhat wheezy, though given what she was holding, Shadow assumed that she was either serious or stupid. Most likely the latter. "Come on." she goaded him. "You don't even have anything on you." was she actually trying to negotiate with him? "You can go fast, yeah, but with that leg of yours, you can't go AS fast."

"...you have no idea how much I would want to be anywhere other than here."

The young woman didn't believe her ears at first. "Pardon?"

"It's beginning to become painful." Shadow groaned, holding his hand to his chest. "I want to, but I can't leave. It won't stop."

"What?" she began to approach him, weapon still aimed, yet her curiosity had peaked. "What hurts? You haven't explained anything to us, you've just been running away!"

"You're only making it worse! Now leave me be!" he leapt forward, she in turn ducking. He had no intention, let alone any desire to engage the foolish dunce, yet hopefully he'd be able to get a head start without her-

BANG!

It wasn't close to him, yet close enough to where he saw the spark of the exiting bullet, as well as the tree it had just hit, clipping off a decently sized chunk of bark.

A low, frustrated sigh escaped him, his teeth grinding together.

"I'm not letting you leave." the woman growled, the pain from his kick still resonating in her stomach somewhat.

"You plan to capture me?" Shadow snarled. "Or are you hoping to make yourself a punching bag until your more capable 'friends' get here?"

He couldn't see it, yet the 'click' that came after indicated she was more than a little touchy over what he had just said.

"...fine then." Shadow sighed, turning to face her. "Seems to be the only way any of you ever learn."

 **?**

"Should the soldiers-"

"No."

"No?"

"...he shall do the work for us."

 **Distance Away**

There was a hesitance in her form, he could see it clearly. All the same, it meant nothing to him. Big talk, but little to back it up, typical from these uniform clad goons. Still, since she was so insistent, he'd provide the rest of her merry band something to find when they eventually caught up.

If anything, he could at least channel his combined frustrations to good use.

He lunged forward. She fired, only to realize too late he had just faked her out.

Instead of towards her, Shadow leapt to the side, dashing in a zig-zag pattern around the human woman, all the while she unloaded shot after shot in his direction, hoping to score at least something of a hit on his legs.

"GAH!" what she got was a hit on her own, the hedgehog having come up from behind and deliver a chop to the back of her knees.

The sudden loss of balance caused her weapon to momentarily slip from her grip, she wasting no time in getting ahold of it again, though her hand soon engaged in fighting for it with the one she had been firing at not a moment prior. Trying to hoist herself up, all the while making sure that her hands at least remained touching the gun, the human woman and Shadow engaged in a short session of tug-of-war, the latter clearly the stronger of the two, yet the former simply refused to relinquish it to him. If she could maybe just get it to where it'd hit his shoulder, she could perhaps wrangle his hand away. If she could just reach the trigger, maybe she'd-

WHACK!

Or not. Instead, maybe he could deliver a kick to the underside of her jaw and send her to the ground again.

Shadow held the weapon in his hands, not even taking a moment more to even observe the horrid thing before promptly tossing it a good distance away. Good enough to where, for now, she'd never be able to get to course, it was then that, as his outmatched opponent lifted herself up did he, to his sudden shock, realize that something about her had changed. It was far from a drastic one, yet once he saw it, he found himself curiously affected by it.

His kick had dislodged the soldier's visor, the darkened eye piece coming off from its former place and revealing the entirety of his current aggressor's face. The general lighting of the area made getting every single detail difficult, yet from what Shadow could tell, a face far younger than he anticipated lay partially concealed behind that visor. The young woman's eyes were large and wide, either brown or at least hazel in color (at least, he assumed so), her brows cared for and plucked, though only just enough, the thickness building up at the head. She seemed, if anything, somewhat taken aback that he had just done what he did, only to then focus back on getting her...weapon.

Oh.

Whatever sort of stupor she had been in died down, she standing and drawing what appeared to be a darkly colored bowie knife from the small sheath on her utility belt, a feature that all the other soldiers had, yet the Ultimate Lifeform didn't taken much notice of until now. She lunged forward, swiping the blade to the left and right, stabbing it downward, doing whatever its wielder saw fit to in order to cause some sort of damage to her target's legs. Said target had been backed up against the trunk of a tree, and the human thought in that moment, she had finally got her chance. Grasping the hedgehog's throat, she raised her melee weapon up and swung down, only to find she had met the thickened bark of the tree. Her target's legs had spread themselves out, away from her aim.

She got no second chance to rectify this mistake, a solid headbut sending her back and dislodging her grip. She tried to regain her senses, yet a flurry of punches and kicks to her, more specifically, her lower half, left her with no time to regain control over the situation. With what she felt to be one, final kick to her chest, the woman was launched backward, her journey only stopped by yet another tree. The world around her was spinning, and when she tried to stand, a gloved hand wrapped its fingers around her throat, holding her there, a knee being brought up to her chest when she struggled. It was when she fully understood what was happening did the world stop spinning, a clear and concise picture coming to her.

He had her.

He had her at his mercy.

And yet...why did it seem that he was confused about it?

Indeed, she noted that, despite the almost naturally set scowl the hedgehog's features conveyed, there was something of a reaction developing, a reaction that she could only describe as what one presents when they have either discovered something new or discovered another, unseen aspect about something they already believed to know everything about. If not for the beating of her own heart silencing everything else around her, she would've asked at least one of a hundred questions coming to her at that moment, yet her tongue failed to cooperate with her. Besides, even if his grip on her neck had slacked somewhat, it was still somewhat difficult to breathe.

He looked off into the distance. For what reason, she knew not, yet from the sheer determination that came to replace his former confusion, it was clear that the hedgehog was going there, no matter who, or what got in his way. He turned to her, hand just now around her neck, yet his grip was still firm enough. "If this has taught you anything, then take this from it." he told her, voice low. "Don't follow me."

And with that, he released her, she in turn taking in long, heavy breathes, sweet oxygen filling her lungs. Though he still had his leg injury, by the time she was up on her feet again, the Ultimate Lifeform had gone and made his escape, leaving her on her lonesome.

Save for the small, hidden bevy of eyes watching from above.

 **Note: Currently, it's 3 in the morning, and I couldn't sleep because I just HAD to finish it. No, really, I had to. My body wouldn't let me rest unless this thing go uploaded. That said, I'd like to address a few things.**

 **While hopefully it's not too drastic of a change, I wanted to make Octavia more competent as a member of GUN. Granted, she's still very much the loser she was beforehand, yet if she made it through basic training, she should at least have decent enough skills to keep up some sort of fight.**

 **Shadow's reaction to her losing her visor will also be explained later, as it ties in not just to his and her character development, it also ties in with what happens to the soldiers later, as well as how small things can have a drastic impact on a situation.**

 **Hopefully I didn't sound too pretentious there. That said, thank you all for the support, and I hope to hear from my readers again soon!**


	17. Chapter 4-Infection

**Note: Feels kind of surreal that I'm here yet again. Where the first version of the story sort of 'began'. Albeit, I much prefer the events in this one compared to the other. Granted, I'm not saying it's perfect (far from it, as there's always someone better than you, I think), yet I feel that this progression is far stronger than the other. Plus, hopefully, things don't just feel as if they're popping up out of nowhere with no context. Granted, some things have happened in the background that are important, but they will be addressed later, don't worry. Details to me are very important, and whilst I feel it is good to not spoon feed the audience too much, I don't want to make things too overly vague.  
**

 **That said, here's the turning point, where things really get started. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4-Infection**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

He continued on. Too many interruptions already. Too many, too much, too much.

'Yet it'll be remedied soon.' that kept him going mostly. That and the urge, the 'pull'...yet until he saw it for himself, he couldn't believe it. He REFUSED to believe it.

While his vision wasn't the best at the moment, mainly due to the scarcity in which the moon's light was able to pour down from the dense foliage, Shadow found that the land felt as if it were steadily...coming down. True, he was having to travel a little slower than usual (something NOT helped at all by that cursed woman he had just dealt with), yet soon, it became evident that the further he went along, the ground beneath him slowly grew less and less elevated.

"Hm?"

And it was far from the only change he took notice of.

'Water?' his ears twitched. 'No. More than just water. It sounds like...waves.'

Indeed, and as his feet took him further and further ahead, his eyes could spot a pale light emanating from above, surely indicating a clearing or some way out of this maddening collection of trees. The dirt beneath grew softer and softer, Shadow nearly losing his footing and tumbling forward due to the change not being accounted for. Nevertheless, his attempts to keep himself upright and standing allowed him to finally pass through, never believing that, until now, that the moon could appear and shine so bright.

'Well...half a moon.'

He shook the passing thought off, directing his attention in surveying his current surroundings. Apparently he had been somewhat mistaken about where he had been 'led' to, as this forest held a place that edged along the coastline. Pale, almost periwinkle colored sand composed of where hardened earth once was (its color surely altered by the night sky and moon's light), the darkened waters of the ocean rising high, then coming to blanket the sand in a foamy coating just mere inches away from his shoes.

'Not here though.' a gloved hand rose to his chest. 'No. Not here, but...a bit further up?'

He didn't hesitate, immediately darting in the direction his instincts and the 'pull' were leading him, trekking a good few miles down the shore until his ruby eyes spotted something in the distance. He didn't with to believe it, yet he couldn't refuse to. It had outright caused him to lose his footing and fall to the sand below, so it had generated something of a physical reaction out of him. Still, even with reality quite literally sitting right before him but mere yards away, the Ultimate Lifeform mind continued race and conjure up potential explanations for what he was even seeing.

Nestled in the sand, slightly sunk into the ground, was what appeared to be the pillar of what used to belong to a rather massive structure, the ocean's waters washing up against its aged, stony surface. In any other circumstance, Shadow, granted, would've believed that such a thing perhaps was worthy of some sort of investigation, yet this particular piece of architecture, he needed no investigation to know where the pillar came from.

He continued forward, albeit at a slower pace, not willing to potentially miss anything. And indeed, as he went along, more and more pieces of similar stone and cubic formations were seen, some of the larger portions located further out into the shallower areas of the ocean, yet there were a few that, like the pillar he first saw, took their place in the sand, how deep they had been buried varying among them.

"It...it's what left."

Not all of it, yet where, as Shadow now discovered, some of it fell. And not but a few feet away from him, the broken, destroyed remains of a once glowing, green stone peeked out from the sand.

And just a small distance ahead, the shore appeared to end, or at the very least, was interrupted by the stony, natural structure of a cliffside towering above him and the expansive body of water. Yet that wasn't what drew him. To the left, an enclosed area could be seen, a small cavern with a large hole in the ceiling, the pale light of moon seeping into it.

'Inside…'

Shadow knew not why such a thought came to him, or why his feet drew him closer to the mouth of the enclosed space, there still an evident limp in his step. Yet just as he reached the mouth, the hedgehog stopped himself. Mouth...that term in itself came to bring rather unpleasant sensations with it, specifically a chilled clawing that eased and wormed its way up his spine. It was ridiculous, he tried to assure himself. Such things...such musings were for the minds of young children and the inexperienced whom had never seen the world. The cave wasn't going to go and potentially gobble him up like some monster! There was no writhing tongue that hungered and craved to taste his flesh! It was absurd! All of it!

And yet, here he stood, far from eager to enter.

Ironic, in more ways than one. Yes, he had more than enough reason, let alone motivation to punish Black Death for what he had wrought, as well as do away with these 'new spawn' he so foolishly boasted about. Honestly, one would've thought that the destroyer of the Black Comet would know better. Stupidity must've been inherited genetically.

'You would all about that, wouldn't you?'

No voice was heard this time, yet Shadow found himself imagining what would've been conveyed to him if the hooded figure continued to communicate, he having, oddly enough, heard nothing for some time. And given that he spoke nothing but insults, not to mention oh so foolishly baiting him to come to him, it made little sense why he ceased such talk now.

'Maybe because I don't need to.'

Another imagined phrase. Shadow was getting nowhere, standing here like a fool at the mouth of a clearly lit, seaside cave. With one, hurried step, he, with a rapidly beating heart, he leapt forward through the entrance, a resonating, wet 'thud' echoing throughout the semi-enclosed place, the smooth waves of the oceans heavily subdued in here, yet the heavy, overpowering scent of salt was still very present. His eyes surveyed the small area, the shadows scarce and mostly confined to the very corners of the space...save for one particular corner.

Drawing closer, Shadow realized that this was far from the end of the cave. This was merely the beginning. There was another cavern in this small space, another where the light of the moon could not reach, and as the hedgehog drew closer and reached out, he found his own hand beginning to disappear in the veiled shadows that dwelt within.

His eyes widened, pulling his hand back as if some horrid creature were to snatch it and drag him inside. And from what he just witnessed, he realized that such a thing was a very real possibility. Eyes. They weren't in any way close to him, yet there was no mistaking it. He had seen a pair of large eyes within the deeper portion of the sea cave, nothing else able to be seen aside for that particular feature, the owner of said eyes staying long enough to make its presence known, but it did nothing. It simply looked at him, observed him, studied him, then drew itself back into the shadows from whence it came.

'I know those.' Shadow realized. 'I know those eyes.'

The tightness in his chest had been present since his arrival, yet now...now it was akin to that of a slow, roasting burn. He had to take in long, heavy breaths in order to have some sort of relief from the ever increasing sensation, the taste of salt coming to his taste buds. And despite this...a solution lay before him. He knew not how, let alone why, yet some part of him, the same that was inexplicably linked to the one that was responsible to the sensation in his chest, yet the thought came to him, as if it were something he had always know, but only just realized.

'Inside.'

Inside...they were inside. He...Do- no, Death was inside. And yet...that was why he was here, right? That was why he had come. So what was the point in waiting any longer? He...he had no fear. He was Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform! He could handle this Black Death! He could handle ANYTHING!

He could...no, he would. He would go in there, and make him pay!

He would...he would...just as soon as his feet agreed to move again.

'Inside. Go inside.'

He practically had to drag himself forward, yet eventually, he reached the cavern, or rather, had made it partially through the entrance. 'Go inside.' Through the mouth...and into the throat of the monster. Yet...yet it was as he said. He could do it. He could do anything.

'Go...and come...to me…'

 **In the Forest**

"You're sure, Squeaker?"

She furrowed her brow, though she was far from willing (shamefully so) to correct him. Not to mention, she was still feeling the aches from the little 'kick' the hedgehog delivered to her. "Positive." Octavia answered. "He took off that way." she gestured in the direction their recently acquired target sped off in. "He's still got a good distance ahead of us, so maybe now it'd be a good time to-"

"And he's got himself a little leg injury." Barrel finished. "Don't care how fast he is, he still isn't going to be running any marathons without having to let it rest now and then." he then turned back to the young woman against the tree, she trying to search for her visor. "Forget it. Make yourself useful and stick to the back." the larger man ordered.

"But my gun!" she protested. "He threw it somewhere over there!" Though no one else said anything, it was more than clear that utter disappointment and frustration was being directed towards her. "It's not my fault! He-"

"When is it ever NOT your fault?" Barrel interrupted. "We've wasted enough time already standing around here, and now because of YOU pulling that stunt, we're still behind!"

"I-"

"Just shut up and do something right! Back, now!" he began to go on his way, the others following suit. "Or don't." he gestured to the tree tops. "Maybe those guys back there are a little hungry."

Octavia hoisted herself up and dusted herself off, the others of the group making their way past her before she, as she was told, took her place at the rear, glaring daggers in the back of Barrel's head. 'Hey, don't be so sure. You've got more meat than I do.'

"While you're at it, radio back and give an update. God knows Sarge is waiting for one. Surely you can do that."

'I could do a LOT with this thing, most of which would probably get me arrested.' she seethed. Oh, there were no words for how she utterly detested this man. He made Hotshot nothing short of an absolute saint!

'At least he's not willing to simply let the target escape. And Hotshot isn't so careless as to leave his weapon. Unlike you.' she grew cold upon hearing that in her mind. 'Pick up the pace, girl! You'll never make it if you continue like this, slacker!' it wasn't her voice, far from it. This one was distinctly male. Not to mention, one she was more than familiar with. 'You good for nothing...just...just go, get out of-' she cut it off, picking up the pace. Not that she would be 'too far behind' seeing as where she was currently assigned, yet she dare not lag. She couldn't do much more, seeing as how much of a disaster this night was becoming.

God only knew it couldn't get any worse.

 **Seaside Cave-Inside**

As expected, he could scarcely see anything. The very hand that he sometimes put forward as he clung and felt alongside the moist, uneven walls of stone was almost unseeable. And, strangely enough, he found himself not entirely worried about how he was essentially no better off had he been blind. The pressure in his chest, whilst still strong and clearly not leaving anytime soon, Shadow found that it held something of a double purpose. At first, he had assumed that it was simply an urge that would not simply let him be unless he 'obeyed' it (of which he only did so to get closer to the one responsible). Yet now, as his feet unsteadily and slowly traversed the darkened, almost completely black interior of the cavern, the general disorientation and lack of direction didn't appear all that intimidating anymore.

'Stop.'

At least, not compared to how it was when he first entered. The command he received bore no voice, Death (not Doom!) had apparently decided that for the time being, silence was golden, yet even with that, Shadow sensed that it wasn't something that his instincts simply alerted him of. No, this ran far deeper than that, even if it made little sense to him.

'Left.'

This urge, this pull, was now seemingly serving as a guide. An invisible provider of direction in where, without it, he would have none. Suffice to say, the ebony hedgehog was more than a little conflicted on how to feel about it.

'Right.'

There was more than one direction to go in this place, Shadow assuming that from what he was receiving, that a small network of sorts lay in this cavern. Where any of them led to, he knew not, yet seeing as he was being led already, he saw little reason to go exploring. That could perhaps come after he finished business.

'Forward.'

Of course...he stopped for a moment, the entrance long gone from sight. He couldn't deny it any longer. This...it made no sense. If Black Death bade he follow them, then run off and presumably hide, why up and do..whatever this sensation was, and essentially lead the hedgehog to him? Foolish as he was for crossing him, Shadow didn't take him for completely so. Black Doom at least had the excuse of overseeing the attack on Westopolis for his swift departure, so what was Death's excuse? Better yet, what was his motive?

'Quarterway there.'

It couldn't be that, maybe, just maybe...he was being...truthful in what he had said?

'Third of a way there.'

No. No, no, he went over this already!

'Halfway there.'

He...he took him out! He and Sonic sent him to his death! That behemoth monster was sent hurling to the surface of Mars!

'Closer…'

Black Doom was no more. He...he knew it. He KNEW it! He saw it, he had done it, he KNEW it! That conniving, deceitful, wretched creature was dead! As well as the rest of his horrid little 'children'-

'Closer…'

Chittering. While his sight was momentarily compromised, his sense of hearing was left unaffected. If anything, it seemed to have been amplified. Given its location, it was perhaps expected that the area would be rife with moisture, droplets and their subsequent dripping echoed and traveled throughout the entirety of the small, winding tunnels. He too, unfortunately, did little to ease the general sense of tightness and discomfort, his own breathing reacting the very same way. And whilst it was far from something he wished to allow into his mind, he found it impossible to banish. The 'mouth' of a cave, a deeper cavern, moist walls and an uneven, slippery floor, the echoes of water and himself...it was indeed as if he was descending further and further into the throat of a monster.

A monster that, if the subconscious alerts were correct, would have its newest meal reach its stomach soon enough, ready to savor and consume its entire being into itself. A monster that, for one reason or another...chittered.

Chittered and snarled and clicked. Sounds that couldn't belong to just one, as several separate echoes met his ears.

'Closer…'

And snarled.

'Closer…'

And huffed.

'Closer…'

He pressed on. And yet he didn't. At least not as quick as before, and his pace had already been forcibly slowed down. Shadow, despite himself, was beginning to have second doubts.

'Closer…'

It...it wasn't as if he was fearful. No, of course not. He was the Ultimate. He was supreme. He feared nothing.

'Closer…'

Yet still, he wondered: what would he find down here? Who...would he find down here?

'Closer…'

But...he already knew the answer to that, didn't he? Yes. He...he knew. And...and he was going to make him see that Shadow the Hedgehog was NOT one to be trifled with! And perhaps if his precious 'Breeder' could've seen that, he would've perhaps escaped his fate, as he could've as well! Yet, of course, it seemed that stubbornness was a genetic trait carried throughout that alien's abominable line. All the same, it would end soon, and it would end with him victorious.

'Closer…'

Yes...that would be it. That would be the result, the end, the coveted 'prize'. And if he already knew the outcome, what was there to be afraid of anything? Besides...it wasn't as if...it was 'him'. That would be...he was at least positively sure that such a thing would be impossible. Yes...ridiculous. Ridiculous.

'Stop.'

Utterly, and truly ridiculous.

'Destination reached.'

 **Forest**

"We're THAT close to the beach?" Octavia said aloud, the rhythmic melody of waves beating and pulling away from the shore drawing nearer and nearer. 'Well, good news is that there really isn't anywhere for him to go from there.' that was one problem taken care of. Now all she had to do was get this thing working!

"Hey, any of those guys from before following us?" Barrel shouted from in front of the band of ten, the young woman and the others stationed near the rear gazing and looking all around.

"From the looks of it, no." She reported. "Maybe...maybe they've decided that they've lost interest in us? What could we possibly have to offer them?"

"Refer to my previous statement." the head answered back. "Then again, we could manage well enough with just nine."

'Agreed.' Octavia thought, though she had another individual in mind.

"'Hey," a soldier in the middle began, gesturing out towards the now visible coastline. "What in the world is that?"

Everyone stopped, Barrel taking a few, tentative steps forward, squinting his darkly colored eyes because, frankly, he was debating on whether or not what he was seeing was even real.

"Isn't that one of the pieces from the-"

"Looks like it." Barrel interrupted, the soldier that had spotted the pillar embedded in the sand drawing nearer as well, along with all the other members of the small group. "Never thought that some of that flying temple would've made it all the way here."

"Look!" another shouted, a woman sporting a blonde ponytail, she breaking from the band and following a series of rather sizable footprints in the sand. "Looks like our speedy friend did a little sightseeing." she then paused, her concealed eyes scanning the intentions and the direction they went in. "And it also looks like he gave us a bit more of a trail to follow.

 **Cavern**

He wasn't seeing this. There was no WAY he was seeing this.

"Wha…" the Ultimate Lifeform was robbed of the ability to form words. "Wha...What in the…"

The stand where it lay was right before him. Right before him, just as it had been when the structure it originally belonged to was still whole. 'The stone outside…' despite its broken state, it could've fit right in the center of the small stand of ancient stone.

The small, cubically shaped interior of one of the chambers of Glyphic Canyon served as the 'room' he had just been led to, said interior obviously having suffered a degree of damage from its fall to the Earth from its position in the skies. Yet despite that, it appeared to have been haphazardly 'placed' back together in a sense, the uneven section of this unknown and seemingly impossibly large space in this assumedly small cave not entirely made for the original shape, thus it was unable to resemble it entirely. Still, it was perhaps as good a reconstruction as possible, given the restraints.

Indeed, Shadow was forced to swallow that he had seen, let alone witnessed a good deal of presumably impossible feats and things this night. Not that what lay before him was implausible, yet the only potential possibility that this could've ever come here was one that, like many other things this night, he wasn't exactly willing to swallow. Even with the figures that followed him in the treetops displaying telltale signs of it, how one of them seemingly broke the branch he was standing on...even if they were the so called 'new spawn' Black Death made mention of, there...there was no way. No way that they could've…

Besides...even if, by chance, they HAD them, the Emeralds in their possession, they couldn't perform what they had shown. Not all at once. Not separate from each other.

He...he could use this though. If anything...it would just make to fuel his search for that hooded, legless monstrosity. Yes, and...and then he'd get his answers, and make him pay for all the trouble he had been put through tonight.

'Do you intend to make good on that threat?'

Whirling around fast, Shadow noticed a dark shape moving towards him from a tunnel stationed at the rear of the replicated temple room, robes trailing along both the natural and broken stone, the top of his head concealed by a thick hood.

"There you are." the ebony hedgehog snarled.

"Indeed, I am." Black Death responded.

"How foolish of you to make yourself known." the smaller of the two readied himself, all the while noting his leg was still not in the best of shape. "Then again, what you put me through up until now has been on my mind for the entire trip. If anything, you've just made my job a whole lot easier."

"If I recall, your reaction and altercation with those walking slabs of meat were all your doing." the hooded Arms spawn retorted. "And if anything, all you've done is make them even more determined to find and detain you."

"Let them try." Shadow answered back. "But first," he took a step forward, gesturing towards Death. "You're going to answer a couple of questions before I send you out of this plain of existence."

He attempted to suppress it, he really did, yet the robed alien couldn't stop himself from backing up somewhat upon hearing the hedgehog's future plans for him. Granted, it wasn't exactly something out of the realm of possibility (especially given that this was the horrid creature that destroyed both the comet AND his leader), but that still didn't make it any more desirable of an outcome. 'Don't you dare.' he wasn't speaking to him, at least not now, yet Death could practically hear his 'parent' voicing his disapproval in his mind. 'Don't you DARE display such cowardice! Your allow yourself to potentially be bested because of fear?!'

"How did you make 'this' happen?" the Ultimate Lifeform questioned, gesturing to the crude replica of the jewel chamber around them.

'Don't you dare.' Steadily, albeit with effort, 'Don't you dare!' Death managed to calm himself. After all, it wasn't as if he came here unprepared. "As I said before, the stones that reside on this planet have been rather difficult to find as of late." he could see it, the hedgehog's resolve to hold onto his former belief on the possibility breaking. "Surely you of all creatures would be aware of the potential power these stones are capable of." Death then pointed down where he had just come from. "There's more than just this chamber, you understand. This portion of this cavern has become more…'personalized' since my and the remainder of Breeder's brood arrived on this ball of dirt." the hooded Black Arms turned back to Shadow, narrowing his three, golden eyes. "You, nor any of the other inhabitants held any idea that we've been here for that long, have you?"

No, he was not aware. Yet he dare not allow this being to intimidate him. Not when there was anyone other than him to be intimidated by. 'He's NOT alive.' "How?" he asked.

"Oh, trust me." Death said. "Despite the Comet's inability to break through this planet's atmosphere, that far from means we haven't had any contact at all. The structure that once stood that you subsequently helped both activate and destroy is proof of that."

"You act as if I have any interest in your disgusting race's history."

"I believe you mean 'our' race's history."

"I do NOT belong to your race!"

Death went silent for a moment. "Breeder was right about you." he stated, shaking his head in mock disapproval. "Denial and defiance are your two most defining characteristics."

"Shut up!" Shadow roared. "Shut up about your blasted 'Breeder'! I know you speak of Black Doom, and I'm tired of you insisting on keeping up this charade!"

It was then that Death's own patience began to falter. "Just how much longer are you going to insist what you've clearly heard and seen is not real?"

"I never said it wasn't real." the hedgehog clarified. "I just said that so far, I have no reason to believe that anything coming out from you is the truth."

"...you truly are impossible." the legless being drew closer. "It seems that the only way to get you to see reason is to show you directly. Then again," he reached out his three digit hand. "That IS why you came, is it not?"

Shadow backed away, Death continuing to draw closer. In one swift motion, the hooded alien made a grab for him, and in yet another swift motion, the hedgehog avoided his hand. Turning to face one another, both of them knew well where this was going.

Thus, Shadow decided that, seeing as he went through all the trouble stringing him along, it'd be poor sport to simply allow Death to be handed his 'reward'.

 **Coastline**

'How much of this stuff IS there?' the young woman thought, continuing on at the rear of the band of ten.

Indeed, while this was surely not all of it, she and a good portion of her other teammates were more than a little surprised at just how much of the once flying structure had wound up here. Even with it having being reported to descend around the edge of eastern coast, none of them suspected that they'd be so close to it all this time and not even be aware.

Of course, sightseeing was not on the agenda tonight, their eyes all centering on the footprints left in the sand, the 'breadcrumbs' that continued to string them along to what they all hoped and prayed was the right direction. 'If he somehow managed to get up on one of these, we're all going to in for it.' Octavia mused to herself, citing the towering cliff sides that cast them all in heavy shadows as they went along.

"He went this way." the woman that had took notice of the prints spoke. "And seeing how the pace begins slowing right around...there," she pointed to a small rise in the sand but feet away from them all. "It looks like he was curious about all of this architecture too."

"Yeah, well, we're not going to sit and gawk at a bunch of older than dirt stone." Barrel interjected. "Whoa, hey, hey." he stopped, motioning for the others to do so. "There's something up ahead."

Turning the corner around the natural formation of earth, the ten could clearly see that the hedgehog made the same turn as well, yet that was not what caught their eye. It was a short distance away, yet it was clearly seen.

"Well…" Barrel began again, a confident smirk coming to his features. "It also looks like our little friend went and did himself some spelunking."

 **Inside Cave**

He reached for the smaller hedgehog again, though in turn, he received the heel of his shoe meeting the center of his enlarged palm.

Black Death stumbled (despite him lacking feet) back, quickly having to block another blow, this time being a clenched fist aiming directly for his face. Shadow leapt back against one of the broken walls of the interior, readying himself to execute a homing attack-

"Gah!"

Only to come tumbling downward, landing awkwardly on his side, of which didn't exactly feel good either. 'Curse those stupid grunts…' he inwardly hissed, his blasted leg having decided that NOW was the time to really be acting up.

"You're injured."

Shadow growled as he hoisted himself up. "It'll heal." though when he got to his feet, he accidentally distributed his weight on said injured limb, nearly forcing him to kneel in response. Perhaps he should've gone through the previous tunnels with more care, as any sort of climbed was far from a good way to alleviate the pain. "But I'll see to it that you won't."

Once again, Death had to suppress his rising dread. True, he wanted nothing more than to slam this insolent little abomination into the ground until his skull cracked open, yet given just whom he was dealing with, he knew well that the smaller creature would've had no scruples in doing the same to him.

'Calm yourself.' he heard 'his' voice speak to him, though, once again, it was little more than his own mind conjuring made up responses to himself. 'It shall all be made worthwhile in a moment.' To that, he could only hope so.

And it looked as if he had to hope fast, as Shadow took to racing forward right towards him, his jet shoes serving to slightly elevate himself from the ground, especially his injured limb. He'd have to watch himself still, unfortunately. He couldn't give Death the thrashing he had envisioned before. Let alone make his namesake a reality as quick. Yet he'd manage, what other choice was there?

The hedgehog's head slammed into the legless alien's abdomen, knocking the hooded Arms spawn against the wall behind him, he having to make use of his teleportation and warp out of the way of his aggressor's incoming fist, said fist making contact with only the red wisps that he left behind. Even so, at least Shadow landed on his good leg this time. He backed himself up against the wall, red eyes scanning the empty space before him. 'He has to show up sometime.' he thought to himself, the ambience that encompassed the rest of the cave's interior seeping into the reconstructed chamber. 'Not even Chaos Control makes you just 'disappear'.

Not even Black Doom was capable of such (of whom was...no, Death was lying, he HAD to be lying), yet where WAS he? It was clear enough that his supposed subordinate was far from as capable of putting up a decent enough fight (though not good enough, as Doom died by his hands!), so either he was hiding up out of his view, or…

Looking up yielded no results, so there was no other option but…

"There you are!"

Black Death wasted no time in making his escape, moving down the exit created in the northern wall, the hedgehog surely at his 'heels', no doubt. And had he looked back, he'd be correct in his assumption. Despite the lag he was having to work with, Shadow was still gaining distance and drawing closer and closer to the hooded alien with each passing moment. Though as the both of them traversed down this even deeper tunnel, the Ultimate Lifeform noted that the chamber wasn't the only portion of the temple that had somehow been transferred into this space. Bits and pieces of broken, aged stone that were perhaps as old as the natural rock that composed of this place littered the walls and flooring, creating large gaps that Shadow had up and nearly gotten himself caught in, almost tripping over them at first. Due to the not overly large, but large enough gaps, his 'run' forward had to steadily transition to that of a 'gallop' to better guarantee the he wouldn't be feeling his face coming to meet a hardened surface below.

Still, he adapted. He was the Ultimate Lifeform. And as such, Death's lies held no sway over him. And whatever potentially awaited him at the end of this corridor (which would be nothing, he repeated to himself), he would just deal with it in a similar manner. Yes, and...and that'd be the end of it all. All of it.

'I've yet to see those 'new spawn' you spoke so confidently of!' Shadow nearly called out, his voice surely going to reverberate throughout the enclosed space. He would've-

CHITTER

Had not another 'spoken' in his place.

He didn't look back. He dare not look back...though not because of the now potential possibility of Black Death's claims bearing weight to them. Even with what he had witnessed in the forest. That...no. No! It just made it all the more reason for him to get to him and deliver answers that he rightfully deserved!

Closer, and closer still he drew. Yet still, not close enough. That blasted monstrosity was just barely out of reach, but not out of...it'd be risky, and he'd have to perform it correctly. Not to mention that he'd have to both perform with AND subsequently land on the good foot. But the surges of red energy were beginning to develop around the Arms member, surges that he was more than familiar with.

One chance for this. He couldn't miss. He couldn't let him slip away. Not again. Not when he was just out of reach. One chance, he reminded himself, getting himself ready. Just one, single, sole chance-

"Ooof!"

Success!

Just moments before the teleportation fully occured, the sole of his jet shoe made swift contact with the sacral area of Black Death's back (at least Shadow assumed such, which also involved assuming that these creatures bore standard anatomy in some parts), the alien in turn crying out at the sensation and losing his balance, his descent quick and undoubtedly painful, the front of his body skidding slightly across the broken, uneven stones that once belonged to the temple of the far off canyon. Shadow steadily brought his sprint to a halt, making sure to finish off on the uninjured limb, his gloved hand reaching and taking hold of Death's head, clutching a handful of blue cloth.

And seemingly nothing else.

Death began to stir, yet Shadow slammed his foot down on the Black Arm's stump of a neck, his intrigue, despite his burning animosity towards the creature, peaked. While it was clear that he in no way bore the sizable horns akin to Doom's Shadow had at least assumed, given he didn't resemble one of the mindless drones that once rained down from the skies, the robed being bore SOME sort of set of horns. But to his surprise, he found his hand feeling nothing. Or rather, something that was definitely not a sharpened, hardened growth or portion of his skull that naturally exited his flesh. Yet there was some sort of growth, nonetheless. Almost like...hardened tissue.

"You dare…" the body beneath the heel of his foot stirred, the sudden movement dislodging him, the even more sudden rise from his position removing Shadow completely from Death. "You DARE lay your hands there?!" the hedgehog found, surprisingly, he had no time to react to Death's retaliation for this assumed 'offense', a resounding SLAP echoing throughout the tunnel and Shadow's right cheek radiating with hot, stinging pain.

"I'd say YOU'RE the one that's dared!" Shadow roared, bringing his arm up and clenching his fist. "In fact, you've dared for the last time!"

He was about to strike, just moments away from pounding this horrid, troublesome (lying) being's face into little more than a green pulp...when the hedgehog suddenly became aware of a considerable amount of pressure being applied to the top of his head.

Then he became aware that he had just been slammed into the wall, his head bouncing off of the wall and then the floor, his injured leg taking most of the impact from the fall.

Whirling his head around, he came to see little more than blue wisps and Black Death still sitting up on the ground. It wasn't him, it couldn't have been. And he had seen such a thing before, he having executed such many times. Just as what he had initially thought he had caught a glimpse of in the treetops.

An enlarged fist met the back of Shadow's head, sending him to the ground, he quickly lifting himself up, only to find nothing awaiting him, the same manner of blow meeting him in the direction he had just turned from. Despite the continuous onslaught, blows continually being delivered in this fashion again and again and again, the disorientation beginning to take a toll, the hedgehog did have enough focus to notice that the blows felt like he was being struck by more than just flesh and bone. If he hadn't lost it yet, he could've sworn that someone was continuously bashing him in the head with rocks. Or crystal.

Or...no. No, no, no, that...that wasn't possible. That wasn't-

Another blow, this one knocking him a short distance forward and resulting in him sprawled on the ground. Heavy footsteps and growls, obviously belonging to his aggressor, were heard approaching him, Shadow trying to lift himself up and turn his head, trying to get some sort of look at his attacker. Something, anything to at least give him some sort of indication as to what he was dealing with. For despite his reluctance to believe it, a portion of him deep inside knew well that no sort of Arms Soldier, no matter how large or stealthy, was capable of delivering the beating he had just received.

Unfortunately for him, he was not granted that privilege, not entirely. His head was seized before he could completely gain a glimpse, yet in the corner of his eye, he spotted something. This creature did bear claws, though they far from resembled that of the bipedal drones he had come into contact with months prior.

These claws...they appeared to be jagged and sharpened to a far finer point. And those claws were garbed in far more vibrant colors that slightly brightened the overall darkness that perpetuated the tunnel. It was then, as the blue energy was seen developing around them, Shadow realized.

These claws were coated. Coated with a sheen of crystal. A sheen of Emeralds.

 **Coastline**

It was somewhat of a shame. Had they all not been on a wild goose chase, she could've taken the time to admire the natural scenery, the pale light of the astral body above only heighting the cave's beauty.

"Nowhere else for him to go but in here." the blonde woman noted, everyone gathering around the mouth leading to a deeper, and clearly far darker portion of this oceanside cave.

"You…" Octavia began, a nervous giggle escaping her. "You sure about that?"

"Well, you see any other potential route he could've taken?" the other woman asked, the other, younger soldier in turn rendered silent.

"Pretty tight squeeze, it looks like." Barrel observed. "We might have to hunker down."

 **Inside**

He was somewhere new, that much he was aware of. Still inside the cave, yet a deeper section.

And he was also aware that the being that had caught him off guard had just thrown him to the ground as if he were little more than litter. Shadow turned himself around, an act that wasn't exactly easy in his current position, yet he found, just as before, nothing waiting behind him. Yet surely the creature hadn't left him unguarded. After what it had pulled to disorientate and later bring him here.

'You're catching on. Finally.'

Shadow quickly abandoned his pondering on where the unseen being had potentially gone.

'And no, contrary to whatever lie you wish to tell yourself, you DID indeed witness a display of Chaos Control.'

"Death-"

'Death is not here. And seeing as you've said that you only believe your eyes…' amidst the darkness, Shadow, albeit barely, could partially notice the outline of some sort of life form lurking but a few feet away from him, seemingly on, or floating above some sort of platform.

As if it were one of those stones in the temple.

'Come.' the hidden being ordered, his voice rough, yet smooth. As if there were nothing to fear, for himself at least. 'Come closer. It HAS been some time since I last saw you…'

Instead of going forward, the hedgehog found himself backing away.

'Do not tell me the Ultimate Lifeform is afraid.'

'No.' he wished to protest. 'No, I am not!' he wished to bellow and proclaim. 'I fear nothing! Yet you shall fear me!' yet no such thing came from him, his tongue refusing to cooperate with him. Indeed, to his shame, and despite his pride refusing to acknowledge the indisputable truth, he found himself trembling.

Of which was not made any better when his vision was suddenly blinded by the unforeseen shining of a golden light. A light that, upon closer inspection when his eyes adjusted, Shadow realized was not one of gold. Rather, it was Topaz.

Another light brought forth a similar glow, Emerald green. It...no. Impossible. Impossible!

'Oh child, you know not what is even possible.'

Following the Emerald, a glow of Sapphire came to be seen. Then one of Turquoise, the order following in Diamond, Ruby, and Amethyst. Six of seven. The seventh located in the center of the multi-limbed creature, a sheen of Topaz creating a hardened crust over a single, reddened eye.

What lay before Shadow was one he immediately recognized, and at the same time, could barely identify. A small, floating anomaly bearing six limbs positioned itself atop of a partially intact stand where one of the magnetic jewels once roosted, its skin blackened and almost reptilian in nature. That was where the similarities ended, however. The lights that Shadow had seen belonged to each of the six limbs, or rather, the jagged, uneven formations that consumed them at the base of where the once fleshy tentacles began, each coming up to a sharpened, jagged point, no longer appearing like the flawless, diamond-cut stones that they once were. Where red markings on the skin once lay near the eye, small, similarly shaped growths of stone came outward, surrounding the singular optic that bore a sheen of Topaz over it, the layer present, yet far thinner in comparison to the other stony appendages. That was essentially what they were, Shadow noticed, as there was indeed a transition between organic and inorganic material. The skin appeared spread out, thin and stretched as the crystallized portions began, they seemingly 'growing out' of the skin and overtaking the flesh, assuming that any lay underneath the thickened coatings. Yet the eye, even if it followed in a similar fashion, remained relatively unchanged.

"Whatever is the matter, Shadow?" the owner of the eye and what once where the Chaos Emeralds questioned. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

 **Outer Portion of Cave**

"By the way," Barrel noted. "I've yet to hear you give-"

"I know, I know.' she answered. "It's just…" she strained, fidgeting and turning the dial on her communicator.

"Just what?"

"I don't know what's wrong," she admitted. "But I can't get anything!"

"What do you mean you can't-"

"Exactly that!" she interrupted yet again. "Whether its because of just how many trees there are here or something else, I don't know, but I can't tune into the site's frequency!"

"Give me that!" Barrel groaned, swiping the device from her hands. "Lord knows you probably did something to it…" he began messing around with the handheld object, turning the dial back and forth, the dial shifting in a similar fashion. Yet despite his efforts, all that seemed to meet his ears was low, repetitive static.

"You see?" Octavia huffed, unprepared for the communicator to be thrust back in her direction, just barely catching it, of which evolved into a short round of her keeping hold of it. She shot a glare back at the man when his back was turned, yet her animosity was cut short when her eyes fell back onto the device, her mind's eye bringing forth the image of the man she had hauled into the tent. 'What did he say? Something about his camp being…' her train of though came to a grinding halt, a potential, grim possibility dawning on her.

 **Inside**

'Go on. Say it.'

Shadow's mouth hung agape. The words danced and hung to the very tip of his tongue, but whether it was due to pride or shock at what was before him, he still didn't answer.

'Say it. You have nothing else to lean on.'

He had no choice. No options left. "Black...Black Doom…"

"There we go." the singled eyed fusion of flesh and stone stated. "Not so difficult as you made it out to be, is it?" the hedgehog said nothing. "Yes, tis I, in the flesh." he paused for a moment. "My…'new' flesh."

It was far from becoming of him, yet Shadow found himself struggling to form the simplest of words. Nevertheless, what was before him, he found he could only utter one thing. "H-How...how?"

Doom, or rather, Doom's 'Eye', despite his lack of features save for his titular one, appeared bemused. "Quite a quaint, old fashioned question to ask, is it not?" the gem encrusted optic narrowed, it clear that the stone rested beneath the skin, over the eyeball itself. "Unfortunately for you, that is for me and my children to know. Save for one."

"I…" Shadow finally found it in himself to swallow his fear, even if it couldn't be banished entirely, channeling his focus on what the present amalgamation before him just stated. "I am NOT one of your disgusting spawn!"

"That got your blood pumping." the revived Arms leader, or at least some part of him, chuckled. "Good. It's far more becoming of you." his expression then grew dark. "And what I should've curbed upon our first meeting."

"And look where that got you."

Silence overtook the chamber, neither saying a single thing for what felt to be near an eternity.

"You have no idea of just how much trouble you're really in, do you?" the multi-limbed being finally stated, taking the initiative. "Despite my temporary hiatus, don't you dare believe that I've forgotten your transgression against your own kind." Shadow opened his mouth to protest. "Save it. We'll only be repeating ourselves."

Something was off about all this, and it wasn't just the obvious that was right in front of him. "I haven't forgotten either." Shadow answered. "And I'd do it again should the opportunity arise."

A blue wisp overtook the Doom's Eye (or was it Doom himself?), the hedgehog finding no time to react as he soon could see his very own reflection in the glimmering optic, the being having teleported just mere inches from him.

"As I could very well do this same!" the alien roared, all of the gem 'growths' fused with his flesh glowing brightly, as if reacting to his evident fury, drawing closer and closer to Shadow with each and every sentence he spoke. "You've committed nothing short of genocide upon us all! You've doomed us to potential extinction, your own kin without a home and sanctuary! You are nothing short of a murderer!" the time he had ceased speaking, he had backed the hedgehog up against the wall with no potential way or means to escape from him, let alone his gaze. "...which is why, strangely enough, I am willing to overlook all that."

Wait, what? What?!

"You're nothing short of flabbergasted. It's radiating off of you akin to a...what's the human expression? A…neon sign?"

Well, if he could tell that, then surely he could tell that Shadow was about ready to demand an explanation as to how he was even here-

"I reiterate my former statement." Doom interjected. "Getting back on topic, it wasn't a decision that came to mind at first." he drew even closer. "You are guilty of much, Shadow. Even more than what I had just stated. And you were this close, THIS close to being able to rid yourself of all those negative, troublesome ties to your unknown history, for whatever knowledge awaited you, I would be there to aid you through it."

Shadow turned his head slightly, the jewel covered eye about to brush the bridge of his nose. "Oh yes." he huffed. "I'm sure that you stealing and abducting me was just your version of 'tough love'. Was your slamming my head in the monitor the icing on the-" the six-limbed body thrust itself forward, completely pinning him to the wall.

"Yet with your rejection of my kindness," a low growl emitted from the hedgehog, yet Doom made no note of it. Soon, it wouldn't matter. "Along with your crimes against your own, there is much to take in consideration. If not for my dear Black Death and the Emeralds, yes, your eyes do not deceive you, you would have a most severe punishment delivered to you." he wished to say something, his voice finally coming back to him. Yet, to Shadow's horror, he was finding himself becoming stiff, a growing pressure felt weighing on him. No...not this again. "And even then, I had to think long and hard about what to do with you, for, as I am sure you would understand, such things cannot simply be glossed over."

The familiar hold struggling for dominance over him was present, yet the Ultimate Lifeform began to notice a distinct difference. It was still present, not to mention unpleasant overall, but it wasn't as intense of a weight being placed on him. It was noticeably...weaker.

"Of course, with that, I came to realize that there were other matters that needed tending to, because of your actions. Your siblings, both old and new, need somewhere they can grow and develop properly, a place where they can become the image of what our species is capable of. And with that, I came to realize something very interesting."

Not as much of a weight, no, yet it was still present. Something of which Doom was no doubt aware of, seeing as he was making more use of his body pinning him down. Then a sound reached his ears.

"We have nowhere to go. And despite our interactions with this world, we are, for all intents and purposes, strangers in this foreign land. And thus...I require your help."

He couldn't see it, yet it was coming from Doom himself. It was undeniably moist, a slickness heard as it assumedly 'wormed' out of some sort of unseen orifice. Shadow began to struggle, attempting to maneuver his arms and legs to where he could gain some sort of levity over the 'eye', yet he found that, despite the 'weight' not being as strong, the close proximity Doom had made moving difficult enough.

"You'll only be doing damage to yourself if you continue." the eye told him, the hedgehog's red eyes spotting some sort of smaller, flexible 'tail' or 'tentacle' of sorts moving towards him, apparently originating from some place on Doom's backside. "Don't fear, I shan't kill you. If anything, this shall finally allow you to see your true, undisputed purpose."

The appendage shot towards his injured leg, immediately piercing through the Ultimate Lifeform flesh.

It was a useless endeavor to suppress the agonized cry that came from his mouth, the wormy tendril working on breaking down through more than just skin. It wriggled and writhed under the leg's flesh, Shadow thrashing wildly and fruitlessly attempting to reach and grab for the horrid thing to try and pry it out. Such a thing would generate even more potential pain, yes, yet he would manage if it meant the removal of the foreign body invading his. The tendril, even if he could not see it, felt as if it had 'grown' another piece of it, or perhaps it had simply unsheathed some sort of hidden part of itself that was brought out only now. It felt fine and small, yet most of all, sharp. Fine and sharp enough to puncture anything it wished.

Of which, upon seemingly stopping above his femoral artery, it did.

The urge to scream and holler intensified to its maximum, yet Shadow found that all that would come from his mouth were gaps and slurred beginnings of cries. His pride was taking quite the beating as well, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and his entire form seemingly seizing up, shaking violently, his hands grappling useless at the wall behind him, his feet following in a similar fashion. Still, he found himself unable to escape Black Doom's hole, the 'Jewel Eye' as he had now dubbed it, staring him down and observing him akin to a curious scientist or doctor, a new discovery having been made and thus, studied with utmost intensity.

Something was traveling through the tendril. What, he was not sure, yet some sort of fluid or concoction was flowing from Doom, through the appendage, and into him. It burnt and stung terribly, Shadow half expecting for himself to lose consciousness with just how overly stimulated he was becoming, the trembling and overall agony only growing worse and worse. Images began flashing before his eyes, not in his mind's eye, yet right in front of him, as if he were seeing first hand strange, unfamiliar and vague shapes and locations. Said shapes and locations were varied and ranged, yet they flashed by so quickly, that he had little time to process most of them.

What in the world was happening to him!?

Then, whilst they were still traveling as fast, images that he did recognize flashed before him, images of the exterior and interior of a ship floating above the Earth, various hallways and corridors coming to be seen, the face of an old, mustached man with thick, round glasses seemingly scared out of his mind, and…

...a blonde, youthful girl, a look of utmost intensity and defiance etched into her young features.

Soon, the eye mused to himself. Soon, oh yes. Soon...then, the Day of Reckoning would truly begin!

"My Breeder!"

Though it had been forgotten due to his current situation, Shadow's tear filled eyes turned face the entrance to this chamber, the creature that had brought him here and had guarded it seemingly pushed out of the way by a robed, hooded member of the same race.

"My Breeder! The human soldiers have arrived!" it was so small. So small a movement, yet Black Death's presence caused Black Doom to move ever so slightly off of him to direct his attention elsewhere.

He had to get this right. One chance. One chance to do this right-

"Grrrraugh!"

With however much vigor he held left in his surprisingly still conscious body, the Ultimate Lifeform took his left arm and reached over to his leg, his hand gripping hard on the wriggling tendril and with one, hard pull, dislodged it from his leg, not caring anymore that he had released a near deafening, shrillish wail upon doing so, green fluid coating the appendage and running down his leg from where it had formerly roosted.

"NO!" Black Doom roared, single eye widening in both fury and horror. "NOT YET! NOT YET-"

WHAM!

Doom's words were cut off as a fist slammed into the very center of his eye, the stone coating preventing any tissue damage, yet the sheer force (something of which he was shocked the hedgehog still possessed) of the blow sent him back. Knowing he had just seconds to spare, Shadow barreled head first into Black Death, and upon seeing the one that had brought him here before blocking the way, he was forced to make a quick slide underneath its legs, lifting himself up and racing down the corridor, injured leg or not.

"DEATH, YOU FOOL!" he heard Doom bellow from behind, he daring not to look back. "STOP HIM! STOP HIM!"

He kept running. Running, running, running.

Running to where, in what direction, who could say?

All he knew, all he would ever know in that moment, was that he needed to run. The stinging in his leg had begun to travel upward, assaulting that side of his body, his ribs having to be cusped over by one of his hands. What in the world was that monster doing to him!? Better what, what HAD he done to him?!

He needed to get away, he couldn't stay here. He was slipping fast, he could feel it. The twisting, winding tunnels seemed to only go on and on for what felt like forever. He couldn't last much longer. Yet he needed to get away! He had to get away! He had to-

The toe of his shoe had caught itself on a rock, Shadow feeling himself fall forward, his vision finally beginning to darken. Darken and rival the darkness of the very cave itself.

If only, he thought, surely about to hit the floor in mere moments. If only, he held one of the Emeralds in his possession. Then he would be guaranteed a safe passage out of here.

If only...he could just say those two little words...those two, simple little words.

Everything was lost to him, the very ground disappearing beneath him, along with everything else.

 **Note: So, it's been done. The 'transformation' begins. A small but important note, details on the history of the Black Arms, as well as how they gained access to the Chaos Emeralds, the hierarchy of their leaders, or I've dubbed them, 'Breeders', as well as how they discovered the Emeralds themselves will be addressed in later chapters, along with many other things that happened in between various timelines and events. And not just with them, this goes for the fine (but very dead) folks aboard the Ark, GUN, the aftermath of the reveal of Gerald's plan and the subsequent exposure of the government's lies, and the reaction of major characters post SA2, seeing as that game is rather crucial in this story.  
**

 **Also, contrary to what he says, I guess it's obvious that Doom is NOT as 'benevolent' or 'forgiving' as he's making himself out to be.**

 **That said, here's hoping that this was enough of a motivation to intrigue to read more, and I hope to see you next time! Reviews encourage me to do more, so please give me your input! Thank you!**


	18. Chapter 5-Invasion

**Note: Hello, everyone! Very, VERY so for the late update, yet I feel that this particular reason has merit in comparison to the plethora of other excuses I've presented.**

 **In the beginning of May, I came down with a bad sinus infection, which I medicated with the usual remedies. Then, by Sunday, I noticed that I was coughing quite a bit, and not only that, had a significant amount of trouble breathing. Turns out I had gotten an extreme case of bronchitis, of which lead to me being taking in many doses of many different medicines, a nebulizer (essentially a machine that pumps medicine into your airways via breathing it in), and an x-ray that showed I had markings on my lungs that indicated severe strain and damage to the tissue.**

 **It's the end of May as I'm typing this, and while the coughing's died down, I've now got to deal with extreme rib pain from it all, it hurting depending on how I maneuver myself, to where there's a bit of a strain even when I'm breathing.**

 **I feel super bad about it, as I feel I haven't been able to get anything done this month, but all the same, rest and medicine were ultimately more important. Besides, I was feeling a bit too much like shit to really have motivation to do much of anything.**

 **With that said, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5: Invasion**

 **Sonic © of Sega/Sonic Team**

Had he not been down here himself, he would've never believed it. Even if the others accompanying him had all given their testimonies of how they had seen everything he currently was at this very moment, men and women who were in no way liars, he still wouldn't have believed it. After all, how was such a thing possible? The pieces of the temple littered around the beach, he could understand, yet inside here? In such an enclosed space as this? Heck, up until now, none of them were even aware of this cavern's existence! Let alone how deep it went!

Yet here it was. Here he was. In the very belly of it, in the jumbled up, haphazardly put together remains of what once was a chamber belonging to a structure surely even more ancient place than this.

"Barrel?" The soldier was jostled out of his stupor of disbelief, the voice of one of his female comrades creating a small echo throughout he chamber.

"It's nothing." He assured his own voice then echoing all around. "Let's keep going."

They went on, their own step reverberating throughout the entire chamber, and soon, the tunnel they entered.

'Project Shadow…he must've seen them. Or something.' Barrel concluded to himself, he and the team continuing deeper and deeper. 'Something must've brought him down here. Assuming he even got this far.' Everything that made any sort of noise appeared to have it amplified to the max: moisture dripping from above sounded like the beginnings of an incoming rainfall, their boots lightly treading against the uneven ground composed of broken up stones sounding like an army marching on ahead (which, to a degree, they kind of were), and even his and everyone else's breathing reverberated everywhere. That element was the worst in Barrel's eyes. 'So why then?' especially if said breathing accidentally concealed the low, guttural breaths of something else. 'Why does it seem so…empty?'

"Wait." The same woman that had spoken before uttered softly. Barrel turned, only to feel her hand upon his shoulder. "Do you hear that?"

The head of the group listened, squinting his eyes in the darkness. True, they all had their flashlights on (the forest wasn't an option, seeing as the light could've indicated where they were to their pursuers) and that at least brought a slight degree of levity to their current predicament. Yet even with that, their sense of sight was greatly compromised, and thus, their sense of hearing had to be more heavily relied on. Still, even with that, Barrel found himself unable to hear whatever the woman had before, he in turn shaking his head in response.

"Listen." She whispered again, this time gesturing in the direction the sound was coming from.

Barrel did so, once again, not hearing anything and about to tell the woman such-

"Michael…"

Again, as he not heard it himself, he wouldn't have even believed it.

"Michael…"

Michael…his name. Someone was calling his name?

"Michael…."

He looked to the woman that had heard it, her own eyes wide in horror. It wasn't a stretch to say that now, everyone was getting more than a little spooked.

"Charlene…"

Especially since everyone, upon listening to it a bit more, were able to identify whose voice they were clearly hearing.

"Firefly?" the woman asked aloud, not receiving an answer. After a few moments, she called out again. "Robin? Robin, is that you?"

Silence, though only for a short time. "…I'm…here."

It was undeniable. That was her voice. Robin Michaels, Firefly. And yet…at the same time, it wasn't. At least, not how it should've been.

The voice, 'Firefly', spoke again. "I'm here. We…are here…"

A dark-skinned man situated in the back registered that they had made a mistake in coming here, treading this far. But that wasn't at the forefront of his, let alone anyone else's.

"Robin?" Barrel spoke, taking the lead once again. "Is that you? Really you?" he knew what he heard, everyone did. Despite this, there was still a good degree of reluctance to believe the first possibility that entered their minds.

"We?" Barrel questioned.

"We." 'Robin' answered, steps being heard and coming closer. Though, unlike their own, the figure, 'Robin' didn't sound to be wearing any sort of footwear, the sounds that of soft, wet flaps of bare soles treading along moist stone. "We are…all here…" something else began to emerge from the darkness ahead. It didn't reveal itself outright, yet it made its presence known. Eyes. Large, pupils, shimmering eyes. Or…was it a pair of gemstones carved out to resemble such? "And now…you are too…"

* * *

"Shadow! Not so fast!" she called, he immediately ceasing his small sprint. The blonde child trotted towards him, winded and exhausted from attempting to keep up with him. "A race…means that both runners…can keep up with each other…right?" she wheezed, wiping a small amount of developing sweat from her pale brow.

Shadow looked down to his feet, the newly acquired 'rocket shoes' fitted onto them. "Sorry, Maria." His fluster quickly malformed into concern as she began coughing from the heavy exertion she put on her small frame. "Hey, you okay?"

The blonde girl gently shooed him away, quickly standing up fully. "I…I'm fine. I'm not made of glass, Shadow. You don't have to treat me like Grandfather does."

"Sorry. I'll try to remember to go slow…" he was about to attempt to coax her to try again, yet she wasn't facing him.

Maria looked in front of her; the area deathly silent as usual save for her own rattled breaths. Paying closer attention to her breathing, it wasn't casual. Her inhales and exhales were lowered in volume…as if she was attempting to conceal her presence from something unseen.

"Maria?" he spoke up, she breaking from her observance of seemingly nothing, her blue eyes gazing to him, he able to catch the smallest instance of fearful dread in them before they immediately transformed into the warm, inviting blue that she always presented.

"S-sorry." She stuttered. Her blue irises shifted…as if she was attempting to find some way out of the awkward situation she placed herself in, to draw his attention away from whatever she had been 'waiting' for. "Uh…race you!" she bolted before him, the black hedgehog quickly catching wind of her game and taking off after her.

* * *

"…hey."

Drip…

"Hey…"

Drip…

His sense of touch was coming back to him. He was up against something slick and hard, shivers traveling up his spine as he realized just how cold it was.

"There…"

His sense of hearing alerted him that he was not alone. A surge of adrenaline, despite the aches and pains that radiated throughout, came to him, yet upon analyzing the echoes that reached his ears, he came to realize that the voice was far from the one he initially believed it to be.

"I think he's waking up."

Still, it wasn't exactly a voice he attached anything positive to. Female. Younger than some of the others. Oh no. No, no, no!

Attempting to stand, Shadow found out quickly that his legs were exactly will to cooperate with him, he nearly falling to the uneven, moist ground below before he managed to catch himself on the cavern's wall.

"Shine a light in there." Another voice said, clearly male said, Shadow soon finding a hot, white light being pointed right in his direction, blinding and forcing him back up against where the small enclosed space ended.

"What are you-stop! Turn it off, you idiot!"

"Yep." The female voice confirmed, albeit with no joy in said confirmation. If anything, it was the exact thing she dreaded. "Definitely awake." Still, even with that, the light from what Shadow assumed to be a flashlight hadn't been turned off. Instead, it was maneuvered away from his face, allowing him to better see the group of individuals looking at him. Five in total to be precise: three men and two women.

One of which he had already had an altercation with.

He tried to move forward, yet the group huddled around the small entrance of the small space, the sound of weapons being cocked making his ears fall back against his head. That blasted flashlight wasn't doing him much good either. Then again, seeing as it was that particular soldier's few means of defense, going through her wouldn't be that much of a chore.

One step forward-

"Tch!"

"Stay where you are."

Lovely. Abso-freaking-lutely lovely. Even more lovely, it seemed that he would have to. His body had far from recovered from what had occurred, what, with whatever Black Doom had seemingly done, or was going to do with…

'Doom…'

"Ok," another soldier spoke, a woman sporting a brunette bob cut, she too presenting her M4 carbine. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." She stated, not moving an inch, along with everyone else present.

"Wait." Shadow began.

"You have the right to an attorney- "

"You're wasting your time spouting this out- "the Ultimate Lifeform said, albeit more forcibly.

The woman in turn responded in kind. "Should you not be able to afford an attorney, one shall be provided for- "

"Would you shut up for five measly seconds-"the hedgehog began to try and lunge forward, a hand however stopping his momentum and shoving him back to the ground, he wincing at the impact. He could only hope the darkness concealed his reaction. 'Oh, have a look at that.' He thought, the flashlight wielding young woman obviously being the culprit.

"Didn't you hear?" said young woman told Shadow. It was a crutch, yes, yet the fact he was trapped in there did give her a boost in confidence, as well as a stronger sense of authority. "You've just been placed under arrest!"

"Oh, I heard." Shadow answered, his red eyes staring back at the small cluster surrounding him. "And I can clearly see that you're short a few."

A man with darkened skin gritted his teeth, unwilling to have this pint-sized rodent insult them any longer. "We have more than enough to deal with you." He growled. "And I can clearly see that for someone that acts all bad and tough, you're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. You're surrounded now, and unless you can find some way to magically poof yourself out of there, you've got nowhere else to run to."

Slowly, and with a good degree of caution, the hedgehog hoisted himself back onto his feet, a series of low, deep breathes coming from him, a sight that, while not deterring any of the five humans from their positions, did manage to offset them to a degree. "If you're wise…and it's clear none of you are. But I can trust that you all at least have some sense of self-preservation embedded in your minuscule brains." He huffed, as if attempting to catch his breath. Since when had he become so winded? "Go gather up the rest of your little crew and escape from this place. Assuming he haven't already detected your presence."

The holder of the flashlight was puzzled, yet the speedster's words ignited a disgustingly powerful wrenching in the pit of her stomach. "He?"

Whether she could see it or not, Shadow nodded. Despite the readiness to throw whatever insult he could conjure up their way, the delivery of what had just been confirmed to him brought him no sense of satisfaction. "The one that sent his legion raining down from the skies but months prior. And the one that wished for the complete and total annihilation of this planet." He paused, shocked that, all of the sudden, his hands began to tremble. "I don't believe I need to tell you of whom I speak of."

The entirety of the cavern was robbed of sound, save for the light echoes of dripping moisture. Not even the breath of the humans or their trapped quarry was heard.

The humans, even if they continued in following this sudden, perpetuating silence, they had begun to look to and analyze each other, contemplating among themselves what the information they had just received meant. True, while it took longer for some than others, eventually, it appeared that everyone reached one, shared possibility as to whom the hedgehog meant.

Yet…yet how could such a thing be-

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Everyone's attention, even Shadow's, was drawn to the communicator stationed on one of the men's belts, the sudden noise jostling more than a good half of them. The dark-skinned soldier brought the device to his ear, unable to get in a single word before a collection of gunfire rang out through everyone's ears.

"Barrel, what in the world is going on?! What's happening?!" the dark-skinned man shouted, voice beginning to falter due to growing panic.

"They're everywhere!" he heard, another loud series of gunfire forcing him to hold the communicator away from his ear. "Gasket and Breaker are gone!"

"Gone?! What are you- "

BZT!

Silence.

"Barrel?" no answer. "Barrel!" again, no answer. The uniformed man began messing with the device's dial and frequency. "Barrel!" he shouted once again; everyone's eyes centered on the communicator in his hand.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"What…" the young woman holding the flashlight stammered, feeling a series of tremors coming to her. "What was that?"

Her inquiry was useless, she knew. And judging from some of the looks shot her way, the feeling was mutual. Though with this, it didn't take long for her and everyone else's hidden, visor covered eyes, to center themselves on their trapped, surrounded quarry.

"What in the world was that?" the dark-skinned man questioned, still holding the communicator.

Shadow turned to him; the man having maneuvered his way to the mouth of the small space. "This is not my- "

"Didn't say anything about it being your fault." The human interrupted. "Though, it IS interesting that's your first response."

The hedgehog narrowed his brow. The last thing he needed was another round of this. "I told you before and I'll tell you again: LEAVE. You're doing yourself no good staying here."

"We're doing no such thing."

"Then you're only sending yourselves to an early grave- "the hedgehog didn't get anymore out, a fist reaching out and slamming into his furred chest. Curse his current state. Any other time, the Ultimate Lifeform would've made certain that this blasted grunt wouldn't dare lay a hand on him again!

"Shut up!" the man shouted, situating himself at the mouth of the space, of which unintentionally squished the woman already there against the left side of the entrance. "You've done nothing but been a nuisance since you came here! And now, I'm beginning to believe Barrel's conclusion in that you have far more to do with this than you're letting on!"

"If I recall, no one forced any of you to follow me, let alone approach me!" Shadow answered back. "It's far from my fault that you continued to do so!"

"And no one forced you to continue evading us and answer our questions!"

"Stop!" the bob-cut sporting woman interrupted. "Tick, don't bother wasting your breath." She urged her comrade. "There's no good wasting it with that one."

The dark-skinned soldier, Tick, released a low growl, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Indeed, this was doing none of them any good. Let alone those that had gone on ahead of them, which in itself brought with it another issue entirely.

'Barrel…' Tick thought, a grimace coming to his face. 'What happened to you?'

Everyone was at a loss for words, for really, what was there that could be said? Tick held the communicator in his hand, eyes fixated on the speaker. The speaker in which Barrel's voice was heard, perhaps for the very last…no. No, no, he wasn't going there. He couldn't.

"What now?" the brunette woman questioned, Tick still saying nothing.

"We…" another voice piped up, belonging to the one wielding the flashlight. "We can't stay here."

"Excuse me?" Tick asked, clearly baffled, let alone enraged by what he had just heard.

"We shouldn't be here. At least not for now." The woman answered, albeit she was regretting even speaking up in the first place.

"Are you suggesting that we just leave the other half of our group, YOUR group, down there to deal with whatever just- "

"No, of course not!" she argued. "It's just, well, who's to say that we won't end up the same way if we stay here for much longer? And then who would save them?"

"As much as I dislike advocating for one of you lot, this one here is actually speaking sense." Shadow interjected. "If half of your party has already been picked off, then what good would an entourage of you all be?"

Tick was about ready to leap into that cursed hole and wail the daylights out of that ebony rodent. Black and red would've turned into black and blue, though some of his fellow men held him back.

"Maybe we could try and find the others." The woman nestled by the opening suggested. "The other camp. Maybe there's someone we can reach and send out a distress signal at least! Then we could get more guys to come in and- "

"And Barrel, along with everyone else will be dead by then!" Tick cut her off. "Heck, the longer we sit here with our thumbs up our rears, he and the others might be getting torn to…" he paused, turning away from everyone, grip around the communicator tightening.

"But," she tried to argue again. "We don't know what's down there."

"…no." the man agreed, though it was clear he was far from admitting defeat, his concealed eyes focusing on Shadow. "But he does."

What in the world was he doing?

"You sure they were in there?"

Honestly, what in the world was he doing?

"If not, then I wouldn't be showing it to you, would I?"

Tick's teeth grinded together behind his closed lips, this accursed vermin having made this entire endeavor, let alone this entire night nothing short of a nightmare. Of course, given whom one asked, both the human man and the hedgehog accompanying the former collection of ten would've proclaimed themselves to be the victim of the other.

Shadow had made himself clear in that he had no intention, let lone any inclination to stay any longer in this God-forsaken place, let alone thrust himself back into the arms of whatever lay for him, dwelling out in the open where he once traversed.

Let alone going back to 'him'.

'He's alive. By some miracle…no. By some curse, the monster is still alive. Alive…thanks to the…'

"Hey, up here! There's another branching path up ahead!"

Tick nodded, directing his attention to Shadow. "Well?"

The Ultimate Lifeform glowered at him, unsure, yet not exactly caring whether or not it could be seen. Yet soon, his attention was directed towards a blunt, forceful push to his mid back: of which he had discovered to be one of the areas that had continued to hurt the most.

"Y-Yeah." The woman behind him spoke, once again thrusting the but of her flashlight into the sensitive area. "You heard him. Go on."

Shadow growled. "Don't get ahead of yourself." He hissed to her. "You know as well as I do that you wouldn't dare attempt this had the rest of these dunces not been here with you at the moment."

She was about to gasp lightly from what she had just heard yet steeled herself. After all, to a degree, he WAS right about the others…or the 'dunces' as he said. They were watching, if not listening. And in turn, what was said and/or heard would travel elsewhere. Travel to 'him'.

Granted, she suspected that this in itself would garner some sort of attention from the organization she was a part of. After all, here they were, with potential proof of a hostile force surviving what was assumed to be their extinction, and a person of interest in said case involving them was in their 'custody' per say.

'Whether he's truly guilty or not, at the very least, the Commander will be pleased to at least have him under watch.'

Shadow, on the other hand, would deny it until the skies above came crashing down that he was, in any way, in the 'custody' of these humans, let alone GUN of all things. In fact, the only reason he was still here, let alone with them, was simply due to the fact that, regrettably, they had managed to corner him while in a vulnerable position with nowhere he could run. He could've, if he really, truly tried. Yet even then, it was clear he wasn't exactly in the best of states to try.

The area he had been struck in the leg had seemingly numbed, yet a faint 'tingling' still resonated throughout the thin appendage.

"What's up?" His ears twitched, turning to the one behind him, not replying to her inquiry, yet it was clear said statement got his attention. "Your leg, you've been acting funny with it." She paused. "Then again, guess you've been acting funny with it all night." She answered herself. "Along with just 'funny' in general…" that portion of the statement was meant to be just barely above a whisper, yet her and Shadow's definition of such clearly differed.

"All right." Tick suddenly spoke up. "Lead the way."

The hedgehog didn't know whether to be offended or completely baffled at what he had just heard. Heck, if anything, a combination of the two would've fit perfectly! "You can't be that much of an idiot- "

"Say whatever you want, but move when you say them!" Tick reached for him, seizing him by the arm, Shadow in turn wrenching it away.

"You're not making me go back down there!" the Ultimate Lifeform roared. "You should even consider your fool selves fortunate that I actually see fit to even bestow you any sort of warning at all!"

"As should you that this is ALL we're asking of you! Given what you've put all of us through tonight, along with the fact you're now under our custody, we don't exactly HAVE to be 'nice'."

Nice? NICE?! "You dare- "

THUMP

All eyes shot in the direction ahead.

THUMP

"…Jack…"

Tick's ears certainly heard it, yet he could scarcely believe it.

"Jackson…"

That voice…it wasn't just Tick, yet everyone save for the hedgehog 'accompanying' them knew of whom said voice belonged to. "Boomer?" Tick said, his inquiry echoing throughout the darkened interior of the cave.

"Jackson…"

"Mike?" another amongst the group spoke. No answer. "Michael Deans?"

The lightless space ahead was silent and empty for some time, no one sure as to what to do. The urge to go and see what, let alone who was down there came to mind, yet given who was just heard, a heaviness hung over the entire party, human and Ultimate Lifeform alike. Especially given where 'Mike' was supposed to be.

"Jennifer…"

The only other woman froze upon hearing another in the darkness. 'Jessica…'

"Robert…" another voice.

"Jerry?!"

"Terrance…"

Tick rose his weapon, despite himself. Everyone in turn did the same, save for the woman stationed behind the hedgehog. "…who are you?" he asked. No answer. "Well?" he turned to Shadow, of whom shook his head in response to the human's silent accusation. "Answer." Tick demanded. Silence. "Answer, or we'll open fire!"

"…we've been waiting." A man, 'Jerry' answered. "We've been waiting for such a long time."

Shadow's breath hitched. Something….something was amiss. Yet it wasn't just that.

"For a long time…we've been waiting."

It was small. Barely there. In fact, had the area not been so quiet, he would've probably not even noticed. Yet in the concealed space before them all, the familiar 'heat' registered in his chest. The 'pull'. It was far from what he experienced before, yet it was still there. As if it was some sort of 'indication' of another presence.

"For suns and moons…we've waited. Waited for 'him' to call to us."

Shadow found himself involuntarily stepping back. Not out of fear for who…what was communicating with them. No, o-of course not. Yet this feeling, this sensation…faint as it was, a part of him registered what it was. Let alone what it meant. Yet…yet that couldn't be. It couldn't!

"And now…you're all here." 'Jerry' spoke.

"So is Ryan." 'Jessica said after.

Everyone froze. 'Barrel?' they all thought collectively.

"Mark, Fran, Kirk, Dick…they're ALL here with us now." 'Michael' said. "And so," no one saw it directly, yet a flash of blue was seen out of the corner of everyone's eyes. Said flash materializing from BEHIND them. "You will be too."

 **GUN Fortress**

"Nothing! I've got nothing!" the technician answered, having just now ceased furiously tapping on the keyboard. "I can't get contact at all!"

Abraham Tower ran his gloved hands through the short, ivory fibers of his hair. "Keep at it." He simply said. It was clear that the technician wasn't entirely accepting of his superior's order, yet nonetheless, he went back to said task. 'This is bad. This is VERY bad.' He dare not say this aloud, though from the general atmosphere hanging over everyone, he didn't believe he needed to. 'If the system up there is down, then the men stationed aboard have no way of making any sort of contact.' His lips tightened. 'And if that's the case, then-'

"Sir?" The uniformed, older man turned to see another soldier standing at attention.

"At ease." Commander Tower said. "I trust you come bearing news?" the soldier nodded, though his superior was far from optimistic.

"Sir, we've received notice that one of our men aboard the Ark sent out the beginnings of a distress signal just minutes before contact was completely lost."

"What was it?!" Tower wasted no time beating around the bush, his gloved hand placing itself on the younger man's shoulder. "What did it say!?"

"That's the problem, sir." The soldier answered; voice grim. "It was attempted, but it never managed to get out. Not entirely."

Tower's brow furrowed, turning away from the younger man for a moment. "…what DID manage to get out?"

"…he didn't entirely get it out, but…" he bit his lip. "It sounded like he was saying something about 'someone' else being aboard the ship. Then…"

"Then what?"

"….that 'someone' soon evolved into 'someone's'…then, he changed it to 'somethings', because…"

"Because what?"

"…because, I think he thought, or maybe realized, that they weren't human."

 **Near the Holy Summit**

 **The Cave by the Shore**

No, no, no! He wasn't going back! He refused to go back!

He would leave, yet frankly, that was near impossible when he was quite literally sandwiched between a group of five, running humans, of which were also subsequently shooting at the figure in darkness that pursued all of them, it soon being joined by more and more of its kind.

Shadow winced as the sight of the large chamber displaying the broken bits and pieces of Glyphic Canyon came to be seen, though even this didn't get to be fully dwelt on, as everyone continued moving, the hedgehog forced to go along, if not due to the excess weight forcing him to do so.

Chaos Control would've been a God-send by this point.

Yet just as the pounding and bounding of larger, far more equipped creatures in comparison to these humans began…it stopped. Silence once again consumed the cavern, though what lay before them all was evidence that not long prior to the small, yet frantic sprint they all were forced to make, a pretty nasty struggle took place.

'Someone here's been playing pretty rough…' Tick thought, surveying what lay ahead of them all.

Small markings and scrapes were all over the walls, clearly the ricochets of bullets fired, they being just about as numerous as long claw marks that lined the entrance to the tunnel ahead. Then, it was seen that small blotches of red were on the 'frame' that marked said entrance.

"Is that…" the woman behind Shadow stammered, shining her own light on the blotches.

"Shut up." Tick ordered.

"Is that- "

"Squeaker, shut up!"

The woman, 'Squeaker', went silent immediately. Though it didn't last long. "…we can't stay here."

The dark-skinned man whirled around. "I said it once, and I'll say it again: we're not going anywhere until Barrel and the others are found."

She said nothing more after that. It was clear to Shadow that this woman was completely absent of a spine. No matter, seeing as he had said all that needed to be.

Shadow winced, the same sensation from before coming back to him. 'Squeaker' turned her flashlight on him, realizing the sudden…well, increase in the already present tension in his body. Though before she could say anything about it, in the corner of her eye, she saw something shifting in the tunnel behind them all.

Something that she and everyone else only managed to catch a brief glimpse of when she turned her flashlight in its direction, it drawing back into the dark. Though what she managed to catch…it was clear that whatever it was, it was in no way human.

"Octavia…"

A sickening chill assaulted her spine, the voice coming from ahead of them all now. Whirling around, her and the lights of the others managed to catch the bare legs of a woman just feet away from them in the passageway out of the chamber, the bottom of a hospital gown the only thing keeping her decent, her feet seemingly bleeding and worn, skin torn in numerous places. But…she couldn't have been here. That…the voice they all heard, Robin's voice…it couldn't have been her! She was supposed to be in urgent care! There was no way she could've come here, especially by walking!

"Robin?" The other woman present with them, 'Jennifer', hesitantly began. "Robin…what are you doing down here?" it sounded so stupid, yet even with clear evidence that the being before them WAS indeed her, the same unease as before only increased with seeing what little they did. "C-Come on. We need to get you home. You're in no position to be anywhere like this."

"…I am."

Jennifer was puzzled, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. "What?"

"I am already….home. He…is home."

The Ultimate Lifeform felt the 'pull' immensely, though it wasn't the same as before. It…for one reason or another, it didn't 'feel' as if it belonged to just 'one' sole unit. It felt collective, as if several sources were present all at once. Yet…

PLIP…

A small droplet fell from above, hitting Tick's shoulder. At first, the head of the now halved group believed it to simply be moisture, yet examining it closer, he discovered that the substance was, in no way, a liquid. It was far too dense and compact. In fact, it seemed to resemble a small plop of slime…or an extremely thick collection of spittle.

Maybe…both.

PLIP…PLIP

"He…is here. With all of us. Even…with him." She gestured to Shadow, of whom stepped back, bumping into the woman behind him, Octavia.

PLIP…PLIP…PLIP…

"And soon…he will be everywhere. We all will…"

PLIP…PLIP…PLIP…

Tick felt another droplet hit the bridge of his nose, he in turn looking up. He didn't use his flashlight to see what was above him. Didn't have to.

Eyes. A plethora of glowing, yellow eyes stared down at him and the rest of the group from above. Small they were, and seemingly huddled together. Was it just a bunch of small little creatures, or was it some larger, more monstrous thing that they belonged to, all of them having just taken notice of their presence by now?

Or had just taken notice because they 'wanted' them to?

"And so…" 'Robin' finished, pointing to Shadow once again. "Shall you…"

The first 'eye' fell.

Then the others followed.

Very few didn't release a horrified, ear piercing scream.

 **Unknown Location**

'Come…'

The bipedal creature lifted its head, gazing upward into the night sky. Or rather, at alone, distant object that orbited the planet. Not as luminous, nor as encompassing as the moon, yet to it and the rest of its siblings, those older than itself and those more recently born (it belonging to the former grouping), the object was of far greater importance.

'Come…my darlings…'

It stepped out from the mouth of the cave, the thickened rainforest it was scarcely able to see since its arrival on this planet.

'The time has come.'

The creature lowered its head in reverence, the sensation of hardened, chilled crystal coming to be felt on its shoulder, digging lightly into its roughly textured flesh. A blue, light hue began to emit from the crystals, which soon transferred to itself.

No longer would they be forced to hide in the deep crevices of this world. No. Now, they would be the ones looking down from above.

Looking down, at what would be their new dwelling.

Their new home.

 **Near Holy Summit**

 **Seaside Cave**

Shots rang out.

Hot, white flashes sparsely lighting up the room came from all around him, the bullets that exited the barrels of their weapons forcing him to cover his ears.

He could already feel it coming on.

Falling to the floor, while a good strategy to avoid a stray bullet grazing him, was not of his own will, as everything in his body began to feel tight and compressed, his joints locking up. The gunfire raged on, along with the panicked wails and cries of the humans around him, he reaching up and cupping his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise.

'Not there.' He repeated to himself in his mind. 'I'm not there…I'm on Earth. I'm here, on Earth. I'm not there…I'm not there…' he didn't speak, mainly thanks to the hushed, yet harsh and rapid breaths that came in and out of him. And despite the 'pull' that resonated all around him, deathly cold chills overcame him, a factor that wasn't due to the overall coldness of the cave.

Shadow presented a pretty good resemblance to a less evolved member of the creature that he bore half of the genetic code of, hunching downward and instinctively pushing his quills outward, the ends shooting up and sharpening, on the defensive and ready to deliver a sharp pain to anyone that dare try and approach him.

Though he couldn't see it, and his focus on the world around him was severely compromised, he could make out some of the dialogue being thrown all around him, all of which provided him with nothing short of confusion.

"It's trying to get in through my skin!"

"My neck!"

"Oh God, it's inside! It's inside!"

The aged stone of the broken pieces of the chamber sounded as if someone was quite literally thrusting their head up against it, sickening, crunches, coming to be heard, as if bone was giving way.

"Gah!"

Shadow was forced out of his position by a larger form falling on top of him, his already high adrenaline coursing through his veins causing him to scurry away from the downed human, the ebony hedgehog catching said body wriggling and worming along the floor, reaching and clawing frantically at the back of their neck, only to then go still and silent.

His eyes scanned the room around him, the humans around him displaying the same pattern, some slumping up against the walls and/or outright trying to shoot at whatever was seemingly on them, only to be forced to let go by something he couldn't see, they in turn following in the same fashion as their comrades. Low moans and heavy collections of spittle came from their mouths, the one that had landed atop of him lost his visor, Shadow able to see wide, brown eyes shifting in various directions separate of each other. The sight triggered a wrenching in the hedgehog's stomach, he in turn backing away even further from the now lightly convulsing human.

What in the world was-?

"AHHHHH!"

His head whirled in the direction of the high-pitched wail, a wail that, frankly, would've put a banshee to shame.

The woman that had been forcing him to keep with the rest of the group was screaming her lungs out, clutching and scratching at her neck in the same manner as the others, the flashlight that had been discarded shone on her hunched form, Shadow able to see blood on the ends of her fingers, she having removed her gloves to apparently get a better grip at whatever was attacking her.

Wait.

On her braid.

Something…was on her braid. Digging INTO her braid.

Shadow drew forward, his eyes spotting a small, slug-like creature with dark, reddish skin and sharpened, multi-colored, crystals lining its body, they seeming to contract in and out, drawing close to its form as it continued to try and dig into what was presumably the back of the screeching young woman's neck. Only to be halted by the thickened braid of dark hair that draped over the area it wished to access.

'Our new births…'

Shadow reached out and grabbed the slug, it having partially buried itself in the woman's hair. The creature must've sunk something into her, whether it be teeth or some other sharpened extremity, as her head was forced back when he took hold of the thing, her vocals continuing to release a near-deafening holler, she once again going back to reaching and attempting to pry it off herself. The Ultimate Lifeform pulled and pulled at the slug, forcing its 'host' to draw further and further back. Though, it seemed that the part of her that was still capable of thinking rationally sensed what he was trying to do, and while it was with much difficulty, she lifted her head in the opposite direction ever so slightly. This was far from enough, yet she continued to raise just a little more between a series of seconds, Shadow all the while continuing to pull and press against the sides of the slug, all to dislodge it from its place.

Finally, at long last, she felt herself flying forward, head slamming against the wall before her, Shadow in turn tumbling back, a sickening mixture of a wet smack echoing throughout the chamber.

The hedgehog was brought back to attention by the wriggling mass of moist, mucus covered flesh in his hands, it having flipped over and allowing him to see a deep, darkened maw lined with rows of sharpened, small teeth, a lone, blackened hole resting in the very center of the collection of softened tissue and hooked canines. The 'leech' lurched at him, he in turn dropping it to the ground out of disgust, it landing on the ground with a small, wet 'plop'.

Which then was followed with an equally wet, but larger 'crunch', Shadow's jet shoe coming down and crushing the creature into an even more deformed lump of flesh.

The woman he had removed the now dead leech from was leaning over the ground, hands and knees keeping her propped up, shocked, rattled breaths exiting her. Steadily though, she looked up, slowly crawling to her flashlight and shining it on the hedgehog, hazel eyes wide and brimmed with developing moisture as she took in all of him. Blood trailed on the back of her neck, her braid coated with a thickened slime in the middle, yet all her focus, all her attention, seemed to be centered on him. As if he were some unknown, undiscovered creature that she had been the only one to bear witness to.

Suddenly, the body that had landed atop of Shadow began to stir, he and the woman diverting attention away from each other and to him. Tick. Fingers twitched and wriggled, then the wrists. As the strange, unnatural movements began traveling up the arms, the young woman didn't even register at first that her wrist had been grabbed. Next thing she knew, her feet lost contact with the ground, and a large figure ahead had tried to make a grab at her, yet it wasn't fast enough, the ends of its sharpened fingers just barely grazing her pants leg.

It was then that she realized what was truly happening.

The hedgehog was running.

She was merely being dragged along.

 **Note: A small reminder: I don't mean to make it look as if Octavia is getting crapped on just because. While the others seem hostile to her, there is a good reason for it, as incidents such as these aren't exactly new for her, hence, their general dislike of her is justified to a degree. A good deal of animosity she garners is well deserved, yet that in itself is something she has to deal with, accept, and ultimately come to terms with later. Both she and Shadow share that in regard to how the two develop throughout this story.**

 **Also, 'Robin' addressing her as her codename and not her first name also plays a role in both her character and her development. And no, none of the folks from the GUN medical center 'walked', though I would think that'd be obvious.**

 **Shadow WAS in the beginning stages of a panic attack, yet I did some research, and while it differs, panic attacks don't just immediately start right away. They can take time to fully manifest, and I don't want to 'break' him entirely just yet or have him do so this early.**

 **Yes, I'm going to be very, VERY mean to the characters in this.**

 **Reviews encourage more production, so if you like what you see, give a little input please! Thank you!**


	19. Chapter 6: Beset

**Note: Hello, next part here, and last part in this particular spot in the story (currently). I'm taking a small break after this, mainly because I want to plan things out best I can from here on out. While I am following a general outline, as I'm sure many are aware, things change during production, and thus, things may be switched around or altered. Take this chapter for example, it had some events and planned things switched around or cut out for next time. And while the story will generally follow the same basic premise as the former version, as well as some events playing out in a similar manner, some will either be stretched out and/or condensed, so if there's a sense of déjà vu, don't be surprised.**

 **That said, hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 6: Beset**

 **Sonic © of Sega/Sonic Team**

It didn't hurt.

That was the first thing that came to his mind.

Granted, it wasn't as if his leg and everywhere else was spared some degree of aches and pains, yet it wasn't the very first thing that came to him. He could put some pressure on the limb without searing burning traveling through it.

What had changed?

Unfortunately, it wasn't something Shadow could dwell on for long, as escape from the ambush from above was his top priority. As well as the added factor that, to add even more to the situation, he technically wasn't traveling alone. His grip on the female soldier he had whisked away from the scene hadn't wavered, though neither had her vocals. As he ran through the cavern's twisting, winding pathways and uneven ground, eyes peeled and searching for the first sign of light, she screamed and hollered in panic, obviously not accustomed to traveling at such a velocity as this. She stopped at random moments, though it was most likely due to her larger form either bumping into or outright slamming into one of the tightly enclosed walls all around the both of them.

So far, it'd be his luck if this ended in her having broken something.

Shadow continued to run and jump, hop and scale, do whatever he had to in order to push himself further and further, to draw closer and closer to what he could only hope was the entrance.

Then, at long last…

'Ah, finally!'

Light! The pale light of the moon, yet in this darkened space, it rivaled that of the sun.

He bounded through the entrance of the cave, stone transitioning into sand underneath his feet, the strong scent of salt and the chilled breeze of the night penetrating through his thickened black and red quills. Shadow didn't stop, however. He continued, racing out of the enclosed area that lead to the cave, the moon able to shine in its full brilliance in the open and nearly blind him with its light. The ruins of Glyphic Canyon only increased his speed, as well as his desire to not be anywhere near them. Trailing the shoreline, the tide pushing inward and out at a slow, steady, and rhythmic pace, the hedgehog continued speeding along in, ironically enough, a similar manner. Minus the 'slow' part.

Finally, at long last, nothing lay before him. Nothing lodged in the sand, nor in the waters past it. He steadied and slowed his pace, the flares of his jet shoes slowly easing their intensity until they were extinguished, light trails of smoke emitting from the thrusters.

The human he had seized beforehand fell to her knees, thankful for the sensation of something solid (albeit mildly) underneath her being granted once again. She attempted to stand, yet the rush of what she had just experienced made her more than a little uneasy on her feet, she falling back on the sand, having to prop herself up on her palms. Heavy, ragged breaths came in and out as she tried to get her bearings, all the while steadily becoming away of a thick, sour taste in the back of her throat. Said taste seemingly traveling up her esophagus.

Shadow was clearly the more collected of the two, though it was clear that his composure wasn't all there. He too had been forced to kneel, his gloved hand holding his chest as the beating of his own heart rang in his ears. He wasn't winded, such a thing above him (as he told himself, and really, that was all that mattered), yet he couldn't deny that, despite the small 'nap' he had taken in the cave, a good degree of exhaustion still plagued him. There were still so many questions…and yet he knew just enough now. Difficult to swallow as it was.

"He's back." He murmured to himself. "He's really back…"

It was then, however, he also realized that the extra 'cargo' he took had seemingly risen from her place on the ground and rushed off to the shoreline.

"BLEUGH!"

The reason why soon became clear.

Shadow's nose and muzzle wrinkled at the sounds of the woman's hacking and coughing, and the combination of stomach acid and bile that followed. She continued like this for longer than he predicted, turning his gaze ever so slightly to view her, only to immediately turn back upon seeing what was surely her lunch (and perhaps her dinner as well) being deposited where it had first entered. Finally though, at long last, it seemed her esophagus had spewed out all it could for now, cool, ocean air entering her lungs as she took in long, heavy breaths. The aftertaste was strong and dreadful, yet when it came to it, better to have the contents of her stomach out than in.

"Oooh…" she moaned, rubbing the back of her neck, then her back. Really, she wondered where she HADN'T been hit in the high speed escape she and the hedgehog had…oh. Oh! Right! Was he, yes, he was! He was still here! He knelt down a bit, as if he was going to take off. "W-Wait!" she cried out, releasing another cough before she rose to her feet, her legs still quite unsteady from the journey to the outside.

Shadow paused, though his mind was commanding him to go on. Yet it was too late, a hand clutching onto his shoulder, grip tight and from what he could see, fingers and nails coated in her own, drying blood. "What?" he simply asked. All he wanted was to get out of here and have a chance to collect himself.

"You…" she struggled to speak at first, yet after intaking some salty air, she gained some of her bearings. Well, some of them. "You saw that, right?"

"Clearly." Shadow answered, his ruby eyes able to fully see and absorb her own hazel ones. "Or, as clear as it could've been."

"What…" the young woman huffed again, a hand rising to her forehead to massage away the increasing headache developing. Must've been due to the speed she had been traveling at. "What in the world was that? What happened back there?" she asked, it becoming clear that she was steadily growing more and more frenzied at what she had just seen, let alone experienced. There was surely some sort of evidence of that creature (of which was clearly a spawn of the Arms) sinking its teeth in her flesh. From what Shadow could see though, there appeared to be little physical damage, at least none that wasn't obvious.

"I told you." He told her, pointing in her face. "I TOLD you lot to not go any further! I warned you of what was down there! Yet you and the rest of those fools didn't listen to anything I said!"

She appeared stunned, clearly not expecting the hedgehog to jump to that. "Well…well…" she stammered, not exactly in the best state of mind. "Well what did you expect?!" she finally retorted. "You kept going off and refused to come for what was just going to be simple questioning! Not to mention that I no longer have my gun thanks to you!"

"And I told you and the rest of your squad that this was MY business!" Shadow shouted back. "You were here for your own business, as I was here for mine! Of which I, once again, warned you to stay out of! I also believe I told you that you stood no chance against them!"

"Yeah?! If you had just stopped and answered a few questions, then…"

Shadow awaited her next poor attempt to defend herself, yet the words appeared to be completely robbed of her. Her lips parted, mouth moving up and down, yet nothing came out. The Ultimate Lifeform pondered at first what in the world she was sitting there, gaping for, yet the sudden, intense fear present in her eyes didn't take long to be noticed. As well as the registering that the familiar 'pull' had reared its ugly head yet again. It was also then that he saw that she was indeed speaking in a sense, mouthing a certain word to him.

'Behind.'

A stinging sensation caused by three, hardened claws scraping against his back jostled him from place, Shadow rolling across the sand, the grainy texture doing nothing for the wounds that were already on him. Getting up, he turned to face what, or who had struck him, only to find the wisps of a blue aura.

"How'd it do that?" the human woman questioned, then realizing a rather large shadow had just fallen over her.

She got not another word out before she felt her wrist being seized once again, her connection with the ground ripped away as the hedgehog, once again, began racing off with her helplessly in tow.

"Where's your camp?!" Shadow questioned, diving into the collection of trees, the night sky mostly concealed by the branches and leaves above.

"Wh-" she began to shout, only to have a twig slap her in the face. "Pfft!" and leaves get caught in her mouth. "Wh-What?!"

"Your camp! Where is it?!"

"Oh!" she tried to answer, yet he continued moving. And with that, more twigs and branches came her way, she having to use her free arm as a shield to conceal her face (or at least the upper part of her face. Everything else was bombarded by whatever she had hit). "Wait!" she called out, thankfully before another she was given another mouthful of leaves. "Wait, stop!" she then pleaded. "I can't-"she then felt her stomach begin to act up again.

Something of which Shadow came to notice as well, he in turn stopping immediately. While this did cause her to slam into his back and send him falling to the ground, in the end, it was better preferred than having whatever lingered in her gut to be spilt out onto him.

"Th-Thanks…" she coughed out, hoisting herself up, legs still wobbly and everything else not much better. "Wait. No, not thanks." She dusted herself off, her brow furrowing as she pointed directly at him. "What in the world was that thing?! Or better yet, any of THOSE things back in that cave?!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "You people really have no common sense, do you?"

"Answer the question!" the young woman demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, my fellow men and women just got jumped by those disgusting slug things, and even before that, some sort of bigger things were chasing us in the trees!" she then paused. "Just around the same time you showed up too."

"I'm not going through you with this again." The Ultimate Lifeform hissed. "And in case YOU haven't noticed, this is far from the place, let alone the time for you to be playing detective! Not that you'd even pass for a half-decent one at most."

"Hey! You- "

"Didn't have to just bring you along, did I? Didn't have to save you from those leech creatures, did I?!"

She went silent, as did he. The sounds of the forest once again overtook the area. Her hazel eyes stared at the leaf covered ground, seemingly shimmering with developing moisture, her lip trembling slightly. She then turned her head away from the hedgehog's gaze, and whilst Shadow couldn't see it, light, soft, yet short breaths came in and out. She grabbed the top of her shirt underneath her vest and brought it up on her face, as if to relieve that part of herself of any unsavory and/or unwanted features. After another long, heavy breath, she, to his surprise, gave herself a few slaps to her cheeks.

Then, she turned back around. "West."

'What in the world was THAT?' Shadow had considered asking, yet he just realized what she was referring to.

"The RoN site. We're stationed in the Western part of Sector B-15." She then looked around. "At least…I'm assuming it's that way from where we are."

"You just completely ignored my question."

"Please, just go."

The hedgehog shrugged and turned back from her, readying himself to go off.

"Wait!"

He groaned. "NOW what? Weren't you just telling me a second ago TO go?"

"Yeah, but not without me! Besides, Sarge is probably not going to exactly welcome you with open arms." She confessed. "Let alone anyone else, probably."

Shadow inwardly snarled. Blast it all, she was right, unfortunately. Still, there was the issue of her possibly purging whatever else lay in her gut on him. And the even more present threat of what they both had just seen and experienced following them.

"Hey." He heard her speak again, then shocked to feel her arms wrapping around his neck. "Uh," she rubbed the back of her neck. "You know what a 'piggyback' ride is, right?"

* * *

Yes. Yes he was.

And it was absolutely absurd and humiliating.

With her arms wrapped around his neck and legs held by his arms, Shadow sped along through the woods, the human woman stationed on his back.

"So…" she began speaking. Great, the hedgehog thought. "I don't think I actually told you my name."

"No." Shadow confirmed.

"Well,"

Drat. He thought he made it perfectly clear that he didn't care.

"I'm A- "she stopped herself apparently. Shadow still didn't care to know what she was called, yet he did find the sudden pause strange. Oh well. All the better- "Octavia." Or not. "Private Octavia. Second Class. E-2. And…well, I guess I don't need to ask who you are."

"No. No, you don't." the Ultimate Lifeform told her matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty sure EVERY one of you people has at least some semblance of a clue as to who I am." Who was he kidding? There was probably an entire file, no, file cabinets dedicated to every miniscule detail about him. And, no, that was not something he could take pride in. "Though, I actually do have something of value to say." He told her. "Why don't you just use that radio of yours call up your other 'friends'?"

His jab flew right over her head. "I've tried!" she confessed, not exactly confident enough she could take the device out to show him without it being whisked from her hand at this speed. True, it wasn't AS fast as he could've been going, but still. "There's no signal! That's why we're going there directly!"

No signal…Shadow already could detect that didn't mean anything good. Oh, tonight was just getting better and better, wasn't it?

"Anyhow," the woman, 'Octavia' began, clearly not getting the hint. "What WERE you doing out here?" her tone wasn't accusatory, not like before. She seemed genuinely curious. "Did you come here because of those things?"

She was met with silence.

"Really, did you? I just want to know."

Still silence.

"…fine." She huffed, her dissatisfaction either not registering with Shadow, or not even acknowledged. 'You can just tell everyone else. Better yet, you can tell the Command…' she didn't get to finish that thought, her hazel eyes catching sight of something orange and flickering. 'Fire?' they turned a corner, the sight of charred wood and the scene of smoke assaulting their senses. "I think…we're here."

Shadow stopped, Octavia in turn getting off his back. Both stepped forward, surveying the site. Or what was left remaining.

The once standing tents were little more than shredded pieces hanging from whatever nearby twig or branch the wind happened to take them to, the structure that held said material up was bent and snapped. Ironically enough, just like branches or twigs. Weapons lay scattered everywhere on the ground, obviously used, judging by all the shells littered all over the place.

'And the fire…' Octavia thought, examining one of the flames a little closer, noting that it was still burning at the end of a stick with cloth tied at the end, clearly an undershirt. 'Well, there'd be plenty of stuff around here to use as a torch.' The thought of maybe doing the same before they entered that cave came to her mind for a moment, followed by a wrenching disgust that came to her gut. She turned her head away from the fire, not even facing it.

Shadow quirked his brow at her reaction, yet he was busy surveying what was left of this place as well. When those creatures…the…Black Arms…God. He'd have to acknowledge it in his mind, yet he wouldn't let it slip from his lips. Not yet. Not ready just yet. When they clearly came and leveled this site…it suddenly dawned on him. Surely no one could've survived this…and yet still…

"Where is everyone?"

Shadow turned to her, she in turn looking all around for some sign of human life. Aside from here own.

"Certainly not here."

"I know that." Octavia answered, clearly not liking the hedgehog's own. "I mean…if they were…" she bit her lip. "Then…wouldn't there be something…left?"

Indeed, Shadow thought. Ironic, considering that was on his mind as well. Unless they were running out in the woods or trapped up a tree, it was doubtful that they would get far. Yet surely some fell here in battle. But there was nothing left here but wreckage. Where were the bodies? And if they had been moved…where to?

WHAP!

This couldn't be dwelt, on, unfortunately. At least when the sensation of a large amount of force slamming against his gut assaulted him, sending the hedgehog back and landing in a heap on the ground. Or rather, ON the human he was carrying, she in turn releasing a pained groan upon making her landing as well.

Though upon lifting up and looking forward (Octavia being a few seconds behind Shadow for obvious reasons), both of them saw the reason for the sudden 'stop'.

Before them stood a bipedal figure with darkened, pebbled skin and a muscular physique, far outclassing either of them in regard to body or muscle mass. Its upper half was far larger and built in comparison to its lower, though its legs were still heavily built. Yet that was all that the two recognized, and had it just been those features, both Ultimate Lifeform and G.U.N Private would've proclaimed the creature to be what it truly was: a spawn of the Black Arms.

Yet what was before them held all the features seen belonging to one of the extraterrestrials, and at the same time, features that belonged to something of an entirely inorganic object.

Seven to be exact.

Instead of a pair of paleish, golden eyes gazing upon them, two shining crystalized orbs looked down on the two downed individuals, ruby in the left eye, emerald in the right, and yet there was still a clear indication that it was little more than a protective sheen over the real eyeball.

A feature Shadow had seen on the reborn Doom's Eye.

And just like Doom's Eye, the uneven cuts of stone, what had presumably once BEEN the Chaos Emeralds, were seemingly now infused with its very skin, bits and pieces of crystal seen 'growing' out of various areas on the upper arms and legs, the joints in particular. The three fingers and the top portion of the hand were coated in hardened stone of amethyst, the toes coated in ruby and coming up to where the creature's ankles would be. Neither could tell, but the back of its melon-shaped head appeared to have amethyst on the back of it in a sheen.

Though it's back was what really drew their attention.

Upon its back appeared to be large, pointed cuts of gemstone protruding from reddened, rust colored flesh, skin trailing up and clinging to the lower portions of the stone until they could reach no more. The cuts, or uneven pillars of stone came to a point, spiking backward and, ironically enough, semi-resembling a set of sharpened quills. There appeared to be seven in total, each a color corresponding to what surely was the Emeralds that now were just as much a part of the creature as its very flesh, blood, and bone. Perhaps even more.

It all made sense now. Everything made sense now. What he had seen in the trees, in the cave, Doom himself…everything.

And yet-

WHOOSH!

No time to dwell on the rest of his questions however, unfortunately for him, he and his (albeit, unintended) human companion rolling out of the way of the Arms Soldier's jewel encrusted claws.

"Hey, what are you- "and for Shadow to suddenly take ahold of said human and hurl her off a good few feet to the side, she in turn landing with a hardened 'thud!'. "What was that- "

"Shut it!" Shadow hollered back, gritting his teeth when the creature was drawn to the sound of her voice. "Do yourself a favor and keep quiet, idiot, or would you LIKE for it to begin dining on your innards?!" it did the trick for shutting her up, yet it also lowered his focus from his current opponent, of whom had drawn its hand back and began developing three, orange glows at the tips of its pointed digits.

Releasing a gurgled, gravely roar, it swung forward, the heated projectiles of the Chaos Spear flung directly in the Ultimate Lifeform's direction. Flipping backward, Shadow raced forward and delivered a solid kick to the creature's pectorals, causing it to stumble back, yet not fall. Somewhat disconcerting, yet no matter. He would just apply more force as necessary. Speaking of which, Shadow rammed the creature again, it still actually stumbling to the ground, landing on its side. Using this moment of airtime, the hedgehog curled his body up into a tightly knit ball his species was known for and dove downward, his homing attack aiming directly at the creature's head-

Wait…

"ARGH!"

The Arms spawn was down, yet just as Shadow was mere feet away from making contact, it unveiled the side it had been using to hold itself upright on, the arm and belonged on said side concealing a freshly concocted Chaos Lance. Of which had just been delivered right into Shadow's chest.

The hedgehog's back slammed hard against a nearby tree, the roughened bark thankfully unable to penetrate through the fibers of his fur and quills, though the impact was still not exactly a pleasant feeling. Nor was his journey back to the ground, made even worse by the fact he had just landed on his tail.

It was due to the searing pain that he only took notice of three figures suddenly surrounding him, his face haphazardly jumbled and fractured in the reflection cast into the jagged, encrusted gemstone where flesh used to reside.

From her place on the ground, Octavia looked on at the scene taking place, as well as the still lingering presence of the one that had come before them. 'Shoot.' She mentally told herself, eyes beginning to search the ground and weapons laying around her. 'Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot!'

It was a cruel joke, really, this being confirmed when she reached for a rifle, only to find it completely empty. Tossing it the side, she winced upon doing so, as the sound drew the green and red eyed Arms spawn's attention, its three comrades having their way with the black hedgehog.

"Shoot!" she proclaimed aloud, scrambling for something to do. Her hazel irises darted around frantically, beads of freshly formed sweat trailing down her brow and through the fibers of her already damp, moist black hair. The creature drew closer. "N-No!" she hollered in its direction. "Stay where you are!" she shouted, trying her best to make it sound like a command, though it was a poor one, trembling already coming to assault her shaken form. The alien tilted its head in response to this, as if befuddled, or perhaps curious. Though it mattered not in the end, seeing how one of the two was clearly outmatched.

The young woman tossed the unloaded weapon in its direction, retrieving her bowie knife from its holster, all the while searching desperately for something she could better make use of. And praying that what she could manage to reach was loaded.

* * *

Before he could manage to stand, Shadow found himself being seized by the throat and thrown up against the same tree once again, sliding down the trunk until he reached the ground. In this brief, further jostling to his system, his red eyes spotted a pair of topaz claws coming right for him. He couldn't avoid it entirely, feeling the sharpened, chilled edges of stone grazing his back as he rolled to the right, yet thankfully, the bark of the tree took most of the blow. The same couldn't be said further on, the Ultimate Lifeform then finding himself blindsided by an uppercut from one of the three, that move taking more than just fur out of him.

The same creature, this one bearing a pair of duel, violet eyes, lunged forward to strike again, its fingertips beginning to glow orange, yet its target sprung up and kicked off the ground, backflipping out of the way of the incoming Chaos Spears, said projections of Chaos energy simmering small areas in the ground, small trails of smoke left in their wake.

It was right in front of him, he had seen it. Both now, with these creatures, and with the reborn Doom's Eye, or perhaps more fittingly 'Jewel's' Eye. Still, Shadow found the concept still near impossible to grasp. Yet such things would have to come later. The one thing he knew for sure was that, unfortunately, these simple-minded buffoons held an advantage over him in this.

If only he had those same stones at his disposal at this very moment! If only…wait a moment. What was this?

* * *

No, no, no, no!

Nothing!

She found absolutely nothing!

THUD!

Aside from a rough place to land, the empty shells littering the ground felt under her rump as she was knocked to the ground, the wind taken right out of her by a punch to her gut. A pained, breathy moan exited her lips, of which was soon replaced by an even louder cry as the creature's foot came down on her fallen form.

Her eyes spotted a pistol laying nearby, just barely out of reach…

* * *

Was this…yes. Yes, it was! But…but how?! It was impossible!

How many times had he thought that tonight? Better yet, how many times had he been proven wrong?

Still, this familiar surge, this energy he felt flowing through him…where was it coming from? Better yet, why?

He had to test it.

Ducking another swing and a series of spears flung his way, Shadow drew his own arm back, taking the familiar position.

'Yes…' he thought, feeling small bits of heat coming to his fingertips, a low, orange glow seen out of the corner of his eye. 'I can feel it! This…this is real! Actual Chaos Energy!'

One of the three currently engaging him came forward once again, eyes of topaz and sapphire, claws of ruby spreading to make a grab for him.

A perfect opportunity, Shadow would say.

* * *

Frankly, had she not seen the source before her, Octavia would've very well assumed someone had up and placed an anvil atop of her, the creature's clawed foot continuing to press more and more down on her mid chest.

Just a little more…

"A-AGH!" her ribs were in agony, and her stomach wasn't much better. How much did this thing weigh, two hundred…no, three hundred something! At least! It must've been near solid muscle, the rest of whatever composed of it must've just been organs and gallons of unbridled, unhinged aggression. "GAH!" of which it was executing with utmost prejudice now! Breathing was near impossible, it felt like, her lungs burning.

Just a little more…

She could take it no more, she needed at least SOME leeway! Raising her arm clutching the only means of defense she held, her blade made contact with the flesh above the Arms Soldier's ankle, the silvery object disappearing halfway into its lower calve, the creature in turn releasing a gravely shriek, yet this seemed to only cause it to increase the pressure it was exerting down on her.

God, she didn't even know if that pistol was loaded! And if it wasn't…

She tried joggling and moving the sharpened weapon now in the Black Arms, earning more pained growls and snarls, yet also more pressure being applied upon her far more fragile form. It leered down at her, narrowing its eyes, and while the thought made no sense to her in that moment…the young woman could've sworn that it was studying her as if she were a fresh piece of meat.

And really, all things considered, assuming this WAS indeed one of the Black Arms…

She couldn't reach it. Not like this. She was losing air, and if not that, her ribs were surely moments away from cracking. She couldn't reach…nor stop the moisture welling up in her ducts.

She…she didn't want it like this. Not like this.

What would 'he' say?

"Chaos Spear!"

Huh?

It was small. Very small. Yet small enough to where at least some air went into her lungs, having a clearer passageway now. Flashes of orange were seen, albeit not clearly thanks to the figure towering over her, yet this proclamation, as well as the flashes seemed to garner her aggressor's attention. Immensely so.

Well, whatever it was, at the moment, she didn't care. She finally had her chance!

The tips of her fingers managed to snag onto the lone, small gun nearby and pull it in her range. The moment they had done so, the Private took it into her hand and cocked it, the sound seemingly registering to the bipedal creature, it whirling around to view the lesser being it held under its heel-

* * *

The spawn recoiled from the blasts of energy sent its way, despite the coating over its eyes, it lifted up its arms to shield its face. Though given the burns delivered to its skin, said action was perhaps well warranted. Shadow leapt forward and kicked, the sole of his shoe landing directly in the gut of the alien sending it falling back, its posture not exactly flat upon doing so, the 'spines' on its back forcing the alien to arc it upward.

Upon seeing its fellow brethren down, the other two saw fit to pick up the slack, a pair of violet and duel colored crystal and topaz having the smaller 'spawn' of sorts in its sights, ready to pounce-

BANG!

A roar rang out from nearby, the intense vocalization echoing throughout perhaps the entire forest, both the two Arms spawns and Shadow to the source. The duel ruby and emerald eyed alien was leaning over, clearly in pain, along with the woman it had presumably either nearly throttled to death, she hacking and gasping for breath, hand clutched onto her throat. Yet that was not what kept their eyes upon the creature.

Streams of bright, green fluid poured down its shoulder and back, trailing down its thigh and to the ground, though none of its flesh appeared to have been damaged, save for its left calve, and the far longer trail came from the right. Along the spines on its back…from the spine of red stone.

It was bleeding.

The stone was bleeding.

Both hedgehog and human shot a short, momentary glance at each other, adding this to the slew of other previously believed-to-be-impossible happenings that had occurred tonight. Yet right now, both simply swallowed (albeit with some difficulty) what they were seeing.

Especially when it was perhaps the answer to getting out of here alive.

WHAP…

Hm? Shadow's ears twitched.

WHAP…WHAP…

The three creatures looked in the same direction, now seemingly oblivious to the two they had been accosting earlier.

Then, in a flash of blue, all three of them dissipated.

WHAP…WHAP…

This…something was up.

"Wait." Octavia wheezed out, it suddenly registering with her. "You hear that?"

WHAP…WHAP…WHAP…

Blades. Blades of a…

She made a b-line forward.

"Wha- y-you moron! What are you doing?!"

* * *

WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP

The coal black speedster looked upward, then looked away and covered his eyes, the blinding lights shining down on him not exactly something he prepared for.

"Oh, thank God!" a feminine voice from behind said, the hedgehog feeling himself being pushed to the side. Despite her going first, there was no way she could've ever held that position for long. "HEY!" Octavia shouted, beginning to jump up and down, waving her arms. "Well, come on!" she told Shadow, doing another little hope and wave.

No way.

"Fine." She huffed, turning her attention back to the far-off aircraft. "HEY! HEY!" she hollered at the top of her lungs. "DOWN HERE! WE'RE DOWN HERE!"

The lights were on them, so of course they knew they were down here, Shadow thought. The helicopter embezzled with G.U.N's signature branding was several feet above them, yet was steadily descending. True, they were still amid towering trees, yet if the chopper spotted them, then they could at least go and make their way to a clearing. No problem, the human woman thought with her newfound companion here.

"Someone must've made contact before the site got leveled!" Octavia stated, still trying to motion for the aircraft, despite the clear fact they had already been seen.

Shadow ignored her, continuing to look on at the chopper, his eyes widening.

The 'pull' was back. Just as it had been before but minutes ago.

"Wait." The hedgehog commanded, seizing Octavia's wrist when she tried to get closer.

"What?" she questioned.

"Just wait." He repeated, eyes shifting around. Nothing appeared to be around or behind.

It was just then that the helicopter began to dip.

"What the…" the dark-haired soldier observed, not so eager to go forward anymore. Then her eyes fell on Shadow, of whom was observing the aircraft with a startling amount of intensity. "What's up?"

The aircraft then began to dart to the left, the blades continuing to spin on and on.

"Go."

Then it veered to right.

"Wha- "

"Go, you idiot!" Shadow told the human woman. "Go- "

"GAH! GET OFF!" someone shouted from above, both pairs of eyes centered on the chopper. And the figure that was seemingly being forced out of it.

"What the?!"

Scratch that. Make that two.

What was presumably the pilot, voice indicating he was middle aged at most, was forced from his place, his vocals involuntarily releasing a piercing scream as gravity took ahold of him and drug him down towards the Earth below, right where Shadow and Octavia stood.

Though he would never reach the Earth.

Another darkened shape took ahold of him, wrapping its arms around the far smaller form of the man and in mere seconds, disappeared in a flash of blue.

The helicopter was now left in freefall. And mere moments away from collision.

Neither hedgehog nor human needed to be told to run.

Practically leaping onto his back, Shadow and Octavia made a break for it, the whirling of blades chopping and slicing away at the unfortunate treetops that got in their way making both wince at the potential possibility of wood being replaced with flesh.

BOOM!

The odor of leaking gas perpetuated the area, the human woman atop of the Ultimate Lifeform's back looking behind to see the downed aircraft, engulfed in flames.

BOOM!

The first explosion was completely outclassed by the second, the fuel having been released from the crash, giving the fire all it needed to further spread itself out and travel in a bursting display of burning majesty.

Despite the speed Shadow was traveling at, the impact sent him flying, tearing his place away from the ground below, once again finding his head slammed into yet ANOTHER tree! Frankly, at the moment, he wouldn't mind having all the detestable plant life in this place burnt to nothing more than ash!

His nose wrinkled, looking back behind him and seeing that if he didn't move, then he too would perhaps be nothing more than ash.

BOOM!

Another explosion, sending a flurry of torn, flaming wood in his direction, as well as the direction of the human woman, of whom he noticed sprawled out on the ground. It couldn't be seen all that well, yet her temple appeared to have a small trail of blood coming from it. Despite her helmet, it seemed it couldn't protect every inch of her head, having slipped somewhat higher than before, more likely than not due to the velocity she had been traveling at before.

The flames were inching closer and closer. He could simply scoop her up and rush off, yet were those three Arms spawns still around? He couldn't feel anything, yet then again, he didn't exactly have time to react to their presence before. Were they concealing themselves?

Questions, questions, too many questions!

BOOM!

And not enough time.

Then he remembered…his fingertips felt a small surge of heat come to them. Yet that wasn't what he wished to execute.

Taking ahold of the unconscious woman's arm, Shadow eyed the flames steadily drawing nearer and nearer, pondering whether or not he was simply, foolishly, endangering himself by even attempting this. Sure, he had been able to do Chaos Spear, yet that was mostly a rather light use of energy. What he was thinking of, what he was about to be needing if he didn't go off on foot…

BOOM!

Well, he thought, the sight of a large, blown out, flaming piece of what was once a tree was sent flying towards them both, no time like the present, right?

 **Note: There was going to be some additional dialogue at the end, yet I think it would've fit better near the beginning of the next chapter. So, yeah. Doom's back, first look at the new Warriors (what I'll be calling the Arms forces to distinguish them from G.U.N.), and next up, a more familiar, blue figure will be making an entrance.**

 **Thank you guys, and hope I see you next time!**


	20. Chapter 7:Recap

**Note: So, SO sorry for the delay! Figuring out how I want to pace this thing, as well as have things develop as naturally as possible. Here's just something of a little calm after the chaos before, yet rest assured, more hazards will follow.**

 **Chapter 7: Recap**

 **Sonic © of Sega/Sonic Team**

No heat.

No beating, rapidly pounding heart.

And no sound, save for the chirping of birds, as well as the feeling of a light dampness on his fur and skin.

The waking world hadn't come to him just yet, but Shadow was steadily becoming aware that the dream, hazy and unable to recollected, had ended. Exhaustion hadn't exactly left him, but reality had seen fit to wrangle him back into its clutches. His strength would come back to him eventually.

"Ugh…" even if it felt he had been hit by a truck.

His sight needed a moment or two to adjust, yet when the picture before him cleared, the Ultimate Lifeform saw that he was under a section of raised Earth of sorts. Or…was it a cave? A shot of alarm immediately coursing through him. Though upon trying to get up off the ground, he noticed that it was not rock or sand that he felt beneath his hand, but a tightly compact floor composed of dead, wettened leaves and other plants. Had it rained sometime in the night?

'That would explain why the entire place isn't engulfed in flames.'

The ground was uneven and not exactly the best in terms of cushioning, but it wasn't the cave. 'That' cave. And at the moment, that was all that mattered.

Still, there was another matter to attend to. Specifically, in how he had managed to-

"Mmm…" his head turned in the direction of the noise, a form far larger than him turned on its side and releasing low moans and groans, medium-long, dark hair laid out on the ground.

Oh. Oh yes, he wasn't alone. Better yet, he remembered now that he was the one that took her.

The camo-garbed woman began to stir, slowly, yet steadily rising to where her head was off the ground, though so far, that was the only parts of her that she felt she could move without even the slightest hint of pain. Low, heavy breaths came from her, clearly still quite tired.

"Great…" Shadow heard her murmur sleepily. "Freaking alarm clock didn't go off again." She sighed. "Or I didn't set it right." She had absolutely no idea she wasn't alone, let alone where she even was. From what the hedgehog could gauge, it sounded as if she believed she was still in her home or wherever else she resided. "Commander's going to kill me. Again…" she paused, having been turning her head around, to him. Her hazel eyes blinked a few times, then squinted, as if she didn't quite comprehend what, or who she was seeing. "What the…" she began, sitting up. "What do you think you're doing in my…" her hand registered that what lay beneath it was not the cotton bedsheets, let alone the worn, outdated mattress underneath. "…house?"

No, this wasn't, as a bird chirping above confirmed, her house. No, she remembered now. She and presumably the hedgehog next to her were far from anywhere that could've been called 'home'. Still, there was one pressing question that came to her upon with that realization.

"Chaos Control."

Something of which, to her surprise, would be answered without her asking.

"Pardon?"

"Chaos Control." Shadow repeated, starting down at his gloved hand.

"Chaos Control?" the young woman, he now remember having called herself 'Octavia', repeated. "That's one of the things you can do with the Chaos Emeralds, right?" she questioned him. "Well, you can, and a few others, I guess. Not much anyone else."

"I shouldn't." Shadow confessed. "I shouldn't be able to…" he continued to stare at his hand, as if waiting for something to appear. He envisioned the green Emerald he favored to be in the palm of his hand, it fitting perfectly in his palm. Yet he only held dead air. And last he had known…'dead air' was not enough to allow him to do such a thing. Much less the other powers he had found himself able to execute.

How was any of this, any of what had just happened possible? After all the Emeralds were now in the possession of…

"Shouldn't what?" the G.U.N woman, Octavia's voice, drew Shadow out of his musing. "You shouldn't what?"

"Never mind." He simply stated. "It's no concern of yours."

"No concern?"

"Yes. Assuming you need me to repeat myself because you didn't catch it the first time."

She gestured to the small space they both currently occupied. "No concern of how 'we', as in, me and you, got here when you said that you weren't supposed to do something- "

"In case you didn't catch it the FIRST time."

Octavia paused, debating whether or not she should continue. Ultimately, she dropped it. While not much of a debater (and ultimately, neither was she, honestly), it was clear he wasn't going to go further with her.

Or maybe…

"You know," she began. "If I recall correctly- "

"And you probably don't." Shadow interrupted, gaining his footing.

"You're still under arrest for- "she was stopped by the sound of footsteps, seeing the hedgehog walking from her. "Whoa, hey. Hey! Where are you going?!"

He didn't look back, let alone acknowledge her.

"Hey, come back!" she lifted herself up, albeit with some stumbling at first, and ran up to him (again, stumbling at first). "You can't leave me here- "she bit back the rest of her words, taking in a heavy breath, as well as (poorly) puffing out her chest. "Hey!" she seized him by the wrist, feeling herself jerk forward somewhat, he apparently about to take off.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, about to shake her off, not prepared for her to grab his opposite shoulder with her other hand.

"I could be asking you that too!" the young woman retorted. "You're just up and leaving me?!"

He then gestured to the east of them. Sure enough, she could see beyond the sea of trees, which now was, while still dense, not as much so. She could see land past that. Why, if she was right, she could see the very spot the helicopter dropped her and everyone else off.

She didn't look at it long.

"You can walk, from what I can see." Shadow answered. "And if I'm aware, Grand Metropolis is not too far away from here."

"That would take miles!" Octavia argued. "And with those things still out there- "

"They're no longer here!" the Ultimate Lifeform barked out, finally managing to wrangle her off. She was far from stronger, let alone half as strong as he, yet her insistence on clinging to him was something else, if not irritating.

"What?" she asked. Honestly, Shadow was beginning to wonder if her vocabulary was that limited.

"They're not here." He told her, annoyance gone, and a growing sense of realization coming to him. "They…they're no longer in the forest, let alone anywhere near here."

Octavia was relieved by this bout of news at first, though it dawned on her of what the hedgehog had just said. More in how little sense it actually made. "How do you even know that?"

Indeed, how? Shadow held no answer, let alone any understanding of why such a thing slipped from him with such certainty. He hadn't even noticed anything beforehand…or did he? He wasn't sure, the events of the previous night coming to him (curse his memory in more ways than one), but the sensations he experienced were long gone. Not that he wished for them to be back, yet still, perhaps some recollection of them would better answer his and her question.

"Hey," he heard her ask again. "How do you know?"

How?

"Hello?"

How did he even…

"Hey! How do you- "

"I just do!" he retorted, her voice along with the several other things swamping his mind becoming too much to deal with in the span of a single moment. Though clearly recoiling from his outburst, Octavia still found herself far from satisfied.

"What do you mean you 'just know'? How?"

"I don't know!" Shadow shouted yet again. "I just…do! All right! I just do. I don't know how or why any more than you, but I just do!"

"Ok, ok! I believe you!" Octavia admitted defeat, putting her hands up as if he were pointing a weapon right in her face. Not that he would need one. "I don't get or understand any of what you've just said, but…I believe you."

He said nothing, turning away from her again, only to feel a hand clasp his shoulder.

"But I also believe that you're technically still under arrest!"

"And I also believe you mistake me as one who cares." He forced her hand off, only for her to seize him by the right forearm.

"Well you should!" she retorted. "You have no idea what kind of trouble you're in, do you? Not to mention what you say can and will be used against you in the court of law- "

"Unfortunately for you, I care not for your court!" he dislodged her hand once again. "Let alone your idiotic procedures!" he then began to walk off.

"Whoa, hey!" Octavia shouted. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"Where do you think? Away from here." Shadow answered back, groaning as he heard her approaching. Unfortunately for her, he was prepared.

"You can't! You're still, hey. Hey!" he began to pick up pace. "Don't you run away from me! Hey!" he continued on, as if baiting her to continue after him. "Come back, or you're going to have extra charges added! I know that this violates something!"

"Now you're just speaking out of your…" Shadow paused. "Forget it. It'd probably go over your head anyway." And with that, he took off.

"No, wait!" she shouted. "I-I'm warning you! I mean it! You're going to be charged extra for this! Come back!" she ran, her legs pumping up and down, boots pounding against the ground, splashes of puddles produced from the unseen rainfall last night wetting everything from past her ankles (especially the deep ones). She ran and ran and ran, yet it was clear she was outmatched. She held no chance of catching up to him, and really, she never did the moment he began moving. Finally, unfortunately for her, her foot was snagged on a root that had partially grown to where it was above the ground, Octavia tripping over and landing face first into a rather sizable puddle. She lifted her head up, her face covered in mud and the top of her uniform in the same state. "Come on…" she moaned, no one around to even hear her. "You can't just leave me."

* * *

Well, he was approaching where the chopper had crashed, judging from how, as he went along, the wood that composed of the thickened trunks seemingly appeared more and more blackened, some having outright fallen, the portion of which they had broken off from charred and still bearing the odor of smoke.

His ears twitched as he heard something high pitched and repetitive, though the identity of what was creating such a sound.

He approached what was but a few feet from where one of the G.U.N. teams resided, a crowd of new individuals taking their place, albeit there wasn't much to reside in now. They seemed well equipped despite clearly not belonging to the military organization, garbed in vests of bright orange and yellow and helmets of white. Shadow pondered what, let alone who these humans were, let alone what the S+R embezzled on their vests meant.

"Hey, you see something?" a man amongst the group said, seeing a blob of black in the corner of his eye.

"Hm?" another man with him questioned, looking over to see nothing but a sea of trees. "Where were they?"

'Sh-Shoot!' Shadow mentally hissed from his hiding place. Whoever these humans were, it seemed that they simply weren't content to write off whatever may or may not have passed by.

"Behind that tree, over there."

He had to make a break for it. Even better. Shameful as it was, he winced as he saw fingers curl around the trunk, immediately making a break for it and leaving a flurry of dislodged flora in his wake.

"There!" he heard one of the humans shout. Whether or not he was seen mattered not at that moment, he just needed to get back on track of getting out of here and AWAY from any other presence. They grew more and more distant, yet from what he could gather, he had been seen. It would take forever for them to catch up, yet still, the fact he had been still wasn't the most ideal of conditions for him. Last thing he needed was some national search for him going off.

Especially if what had happened…let alone whom he had just had the pleasure of meeting last night got out-

"Oof!"

The next sensation he was aware of was his back making swift contact with the thickened, damp trunk of an aged tree, sliding down until he made contact with the carpet of dead leaves and pine needles. Who…what? Better yet, who dared to-

"Shadow?"

That voice…

Opening his red eyes, they came to be assaulted with the strong presence of blue, said source of blue revealing irises of green.

"Y-You?" Shadow questioned, momentarily losing himself before clearing his throat. "Oh. It's you."

"That's it?" Sonic questioned, getting to his feet. "Granted, that's possibly the best greeting you've given me so far but is that seriously all you've got to say?" he went over and extended his hand to the other hedgehog. Of which wasn't taken, Shadow getting up on his own. "Oh no, really." Sonic scoffed. "You're too kind. Truly. All I did was simply do a small act of- "

"What are you doing here?"

The Fastest Thing Alive (or as he so claimed), placed his hands on his hips. "To the point, aren't you?"

"Something you should be."

"I am." Sonic retorted. "And I'm still baffled at how all you've got coming out of your mouth is 'oh. It's you.'"

"And you're expecting something else?"

"Yeah. Maybe along the lines of 'oh, it's just you. You were late, I had no problem outrunning that fire that happened last night.' Or 'I don't know a thing about those camps that look like a hurricane ran through." Sonic mimicked the other hedgehog's deeper toned voice, though whether this was a good impression was left up in the open. Though Shadow had already made his decision on it, his glower more than enough evidence on what it was. "Not that I'd really believe that, seeing who those camps or whatever term they have for them belonged to."

"They were ours!"

Shadow's eyes widened. No way. No flipping way. He had just run RIGHT back where he had…

The wheezing, huffing and puffing that drew closer and closer confirmed, to his shock and frustration, he had. "They…" the young, dark haired woman garbed in camo gear coughed out, having to stop and rest her hands on her knees. "They were…ours."

"...you from around here, lady?" Sonic questioned, said 'lady' in turn looking up and realizing whom was actually speaking to her.

"Oh my God." She began, eyes widening. "Oh my God, you- "

"Yeah, it's me." Sonic interrupted. It was clear that he was no stranger to this. "Hey, how are you doing? Just got here, probably gonna be halfway across the country in the next few minutes. Want to time me?"

"…I don't have a- "

"Nah, it's just something I'm working on." The blue hedgehog confessed. "Mainly to throw off the paparazzi." It had nothing to do what he had even come out here for, but really, he sometimes had a real hard time deciding if the mobs of camera toting reporters were the true bane of his existence instead of a certain mustached, spectacle wearing egghead. And recently, he found himself leaning towards the former. At least the latter was entertaining. "Anyway, back on track," he turned to Shadow. "What ARE you doing here?"

"I can answer that." Octavia cut in, Shadow's eyes widening. "He showed up last night and avoided questioning. Then, he went and assaulted me- "

"Assaulted you?" the Ultimate Lifeform wasn't going to simply allow this woman to spout whatever.

"Yeah, assaulted!" she shouted back. "What else do you call kicking someone in the face!?"

"And what other reaction would you expect?! Bear in mind, you're far from blameless in any of that either!"

"And he!" she stated, pointing right at him, all the while looking at Sonic. "He's currently under, therefore, he's in our," she paused. "MY custody!"

"So, looks like you WERE busier than you were letting on." Sonic noted

"Your custody, your custody!?" Shadow shouted. "Oh, yes. You say that as if you have any sort of power over me!"

Octavia was about to speak, yet found her voice not exactly cooperating with her for a moment. "Well…yeah. Yeah, it does! By law! And I may not be part of the police force, but I have just as much authority to place you…" suddenly, she paused, both to Shadow and Sonic's befuddlement (though the former was more glad that she had finally ceased flapping her lip). "Wait." She turned back to Sonic. "There was a fire?! Since when?!"

Despite his former relief at her having to cease talking, Shadow couldn't deny that, now that the subject had been brought up again, his intrigue had been lightly ignited.

"Late last night." Sonic answered. "Though if we're going to keep this up, maybe it'd be better if I at least know your name?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She straightened her posture and gave a salute. "Private Second Class, Octavia, at your service."

"Oookay? At ease, soldier?" the blue hedgehog shifted his eyes, momentarily shooting Shadow a look, seeing as, while it wasn't on good terms, he seemed more familiar with her than he.

And surprisingly enough, he actually received an answer. "Fitting I suppose." Albeit, perhaps he should've known that it would've been anything neutral at best. Of course the darker hedgehog would go right for the worst. "They've simply proved that those fools WILL take anyone."

"Hey, watch it!" she shouted. "I've worked my way up to my rank!"

"Hard to believe. Not that it'd matter to me." Shadow huffed. "You could be the Commander himself, and it'd mean absolutely nothing. It's clear that all of you have roughly the same amount of intelligence, as well as the disregard things that are clearly none of your business."

"If you had simply stopped and answered just a few questions, then none of this would've- "

"If you hadn't insisted on following me, then you wouldn't be in this- "

"Hey, hey! Kids!" Sonic raised his voice. "Cool it! Fire's been put out long ago!" the two went quiet, though mainly due to how both realized that no amount of throwing back between the other would either of them any good. Granted, there was still a slew of things each wished to throw at the other, yet again, it'd just be retreading the same ground.

Though…" Oh yeah." Octavia spoke again. "You DID say something about a fire."

"Yes, I did. And as I was saying, before being interrupted, "he shot both Shadow and her a small look, though there wasn't any malice behind it. Just mere irritation. "The fire department's taken care of it from above, of which was helped thanks to a heavy shower early in the morning. But that's not why I'm here."

"The chopper." It was completely unintentional, but both Shadow and Octavia said such in unison, Sonic in turn raising his brow upon hearing such.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "There was a downed chopper at the site. The thing was pretty burnt up, too." He then looked to the human woman. "And seeing that it was also confirmed to have belonged to you guys," he then turned to Shadow, "And that you're here, I can't help but begin to think that something pretty bad went down here too." Both, despite themselves, especially Shadow, were rendered silent. "So, anyone care to go first?"

It was a surprising sight, more to Sonic in comparison to the human, yet even Octavia, from what little she had seen of Shadow, could tell that this wasn't exactly considered 'normal' behavior for him. The other hedgehog seemed to be steadily backing away from the two of them.

"Shadow?"

He said nothing.

And before Sonic or Octavia could question, let alone say anything in response to his silence, he turned heel and rushed off ahead of them, a sudden gust blowing by past them before the forest went still and calm once again.

 **Elsewhere**

Little more than a distant star were they, his lone, single eye gazing down at the planet below.

The loathsome, defiant planet.

"My Breeder?"

He turned, the cloaked figure around the size he once was coming forward, kneeling downward to where he would have the higher position.

"You interrupted me." He stated matter-of-factly; tone low.

"…forgive me." The hooded figure lowered his covered head. "I only wished to alert you of the coming cavalry."

A low growl escaped him, yet in the end, the deed was done. His goal, albeit only small in part, had been achieved. Besides, even with that, there was much work to be done. Especially on his part.

"Breeder?" the hooded figure questioned, a rather violent shake overtaking the smaller, single eyed being. "Ah…it's time again, yes?"

"It…seems so." He groaned. Necessary as it was, he would be lying if he said it was a pleasurable experience. Still, it needed to be done. Now more than ever. For despite this small victory of his, their numbers were still quite low.

As well as nutrients, both for himself, and the young ones to come.

 **Earth**

"So, you mind running that by me again? Though, you can skip the whole thing about the woods and your little 'love tap'. I got that."

"So did I." Octavia moaned, bringing her hand to her chin, all the while eyeing Shadow. "After that…we found him, and he kept going on about how we shouldn't go down in the cave, that we were making a mistake…" she looked in the direction the aforementioned black hedgehog went. "Why aren't you going after him? I mean, yeah, it's actually nice you AREN'T leaving me in the middle of nowhere, but- "

"Oh please." Sonic assured. "He'll tell you otherwise, but I can catch up to him lickity split. Not like he has anywhere to go anyway." He looked out in the direction Shadow had gone, she not understanding why, yet for a moment, it seemed that the Blue Blur's air of confidence faltered, the slivers of doubt and, dare she say, worry coming to be seen on his face. "But back to what you were saying?"

"Oh, y-yeah. Well, from the beginning, he was acting weird." The human woman continued. "And frankly, more than a little suspicious."

"Well, that certainly SOUNDS like Shads there." Sonic agreed. 'Specially the weird part.'

"He wouldn't say much of anything aside from how he had 'business' here or something," Octavia went on. "And then, we end up finding pieces of those flying ruins in the nearby ocean."

"Sorry to interrupt, but…didn't any of you think to call back to camp?"

"We tried." The woman answered. "But we couldn't get any response. Every frequency we tried didn't get anything. Then…we went into the cave and found him all huddled up in a hole."

"Which is when you were attacked the first time."

"…yes." She confirmed. "Though, the chopper must've come due to someone getting something out. Only…that didn't go well for us either."

Sonic said nothing for a moment, holding his chin. "So…those things ARE back. Tails saw what he saw."

"What was that?" Octavia questioned, though before she could say anymore, Sonic spoke first.

"There's something I don't get." The blue speedster stated. "If what you say is true, then how is it that you both ended up so far away…"

 **Further Away**

'…from the crash?'

Really, there was no reason for him to be contemplating this, the answer clear as day. Yet still, there it was, burning in his mind and refusing to leave.

How? How, how, how, how, how?

The short answer? Because of Black Doom.

The long answer? Because of Black Doom…and whatever strange process that involved the unknown procedure done to him.

True, Shadow could piece together the basics, yet the most inner details, to his befuddlement and frustration (an emotion that seemed to be quite attracted to him recently), were lost to him.

What exactly had Black Doom done? Better yet, how in the world did he come to have the Emeralds…quite literally, on his person?

That was perhaps what unnerved him the most. The Emeralds had seemingly 'fused' and become one with his flesh, as well as the flesh of those creature that attacked both he and that woman last night. How was such a thing even possible? Better yet, why did he now have the same abilities he had when he was in possession of one of the mystical gemstones?

It was…'transferred' to him somehow. Via the tentacle that had pierced into him. Did that mean…the power of the Emeralds had become one with his blood as well? And in turn, his? But…surely it couldn't extend that deep. Yes, the Chaos Emeralds were gems of miracles, but such a thing, he couldn't ever imagine.

Whatever the case, while it had given him much benefit last night, this 'blessing' brought with it an uneasiness to the Ultimate Lifeform.

After all, he hadn't forgotten just whom had 'provided' it to him.

 **Note: I'll admit that one of the reasons this one took so long was that I'm a tad bit conflicted on where this should go. True, I could originally go with my initial plan in how the last one went, yet I also don't want to repeat past mistakes. Any suggestions would be welcome, but I hope I can figure it out for myself.**

 **That said, thank you and I hope to see you again!**


	21. Chapter 8-Reprieve?

**Note: Another chapter here, albeit more of a break from all the madness, even if more madness is to follow suit.**

 **Octavia here is going to show some of her general pathetic, sniveling nature and bits of selfishness, though rest assured, there are reasons for this behavior. Not excuses, as it will be addressed, yet still reasons. I'm mainly saying this because I'm afraid that her behavior may be seen as unintentional, when that's not the case. She's meant to be pathetic, at least at first (as well as relating to another character in the story, though I don't want to give that away anytime soon).**

 **Also, another thing to note is that this is NOT a pairing fic. Any sort of implication of that is not my intention. Unless I say otherwise, every relationship here is strictly platonic. Of course, people have their own pairings and ships (some more die hard than others), so I'm leaving it at that. Think whatever, as that is a freedom you have the right to. But for me, personally, I'm seeing everything as simply friendship status at the most, certain crushes (via a certain pink somebody coming later) notwithstanding.**

 **That said, here's hoping you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8-Reprieve?**

 **Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team**

It was a shameful display. Even before he was reduced to the state he was currently in. A being such as himself could've, should've been above this. Even if it was what his very design, let alone available systems were designed for, then surely there was no need to be all worked up over the series of straining pushes and agonized sensations that set the entirety of his very being on fire.

If it were just one, then it would still be painful, yes, but a momentary discomfort in the grand span of things. Yet for him, for his race, there was never just one. Never.

"You're almost there." A low, rumbling voice encouraged, the sensation of three fingers curling around one of his tentacles registering to him, but even that small comfort did him little good in comparison to the lovely word that had just been uttered. Still, 'almost' was just that. It wasn't 'done'.

Thus, he pushed forward. At least when he still held two arms and a functioning torso, not to mention an actual head, while the necessary torture was still just that, at least then it was just a process that needed to be done every century or so, depending on whether or not their numbers had suffered greatly during the last couple of 'visits' provided to some of their 'regular' stops. Yet now…now there was no mistaking it. Even in his form, his instincts sensed that too drastic a change had happened, and things needed to be done.

More children would need to be made.

And indeed, at first, upon his first 'awakening' here in this smaller, stone and flesh fused body that was once just an extension of himself, he had gone through the excruciating task of delivering some new hatchlings into the world. A world not his, let alone their own. But it was then that he and his subordinate, and the handful of his children he had left in the hooded figure's care, that the output was greatly, GREATLY reduced.

While it was not just one, it wasn't the thousands they could really use, nor the hundreds that they desperately needed.

Doom wanted nothing more than to fasten his limbs around Death's neck and puncture him with the sharpened ends that now composed of the tips. Here he was, near incapacitated, on the floor, writhing and flailing his tentacles around uselessly. By his ancestors, he missed having hands. Better to at least give the one next to him a good, well deserved thrashing.

"And…done!"

At last. As much as he wished to take his wrath out on the hooded being next to him on the chilled floor, each and every amount of energy he previously had was completely spent on the task of pumping out the last of the newly created spawn. All fifteen of them.

Fifteen.

Not even twenty like last time.

Or even the thirty before.

Even after it had finally been done and over with, a puddle of thickened, clear fluid resting just below him, Black Doom felt no sense of satisfaction. They needed more numbers.

More importantly, they…he needed food.

"LET GO OF ME!" a voice echoed from the hallway just beyond the door, the sound of a struggle taking place being heard as well. Though said struggle didn't last long. "G-Guys! Help! Don't let them do it! Don't let them do it to me too!" then, the sound of the source of the voice being dragged back from where he had come from came to be heard. Then, silence once again, save for Doom's labored breathing.

Food. They ALL needed food.

More than what they had just obtained not too long ago.

And perhaps…while it had far from been finished, a small start of sorts for 'him' wouldn't be such a bad idea.

 **Earth**

The swampy, marshy landscape that housed the remains of what was once, in the eyes of some, the greatest civilization in the entire world, yet if one were to look, one would find that, aside from the dense jungle, a small structure nestled to the east housed some rather curious residents.

Stationed in the small, wooden chair, google fastened on and microspore in hand, the little fox surveyed and observed the small object that was centered in between his fingers, still more than baffled at what it actually was, if 'his' claims were to be believed.

Speaking of, the young kit looked behind him, a figure of red nestled underneath the covers of his bed, completely motionless save for the slow, rhythmic rising and falling of his chest. The fox gave a small sigh, a mixture of concern and relief. At least he was breathing. Yet for him to get into such a state. Especially he of all people…

And it wasn't as if his other 'guest' was in good shape either. Though she was upstairs, and while she wasn't as badly beaten as he, there was a particularly concerning injury on her person that had left her in need of intensive care. Yet if what his other guest said was indeed true, then perhaps a trip to the hospital wouldn't be the only thing they needed.

"Sonic…" he muttered aloud, his duel tails uncomfortably shifting along with the rest of him. "Where are you?"

 **Elsewhere**

"Listen, do you think you could do me a favor?"

Sonic blinked for a moment. She hadn't said much since her relaying what occurred the past night, yet he sensed that what she was about to ask wouldn't exactly be something that could be fulfilled. "Sure." Nevertheless, he decided to hear her out. "Like what?"

"Find him." She simply stated, though her phrasing and tone made it sound more like a plea. "Find him and convince him to turn himself in."

Yep. He knew it.

"Lady, you'd have a better chance at managing to be match either me or him halfway on foot."

"Sonic, please." He was somewhat taken aback by this. Even more so when she got on her knees and took his larger hand in both her own. "He…" she bit her lip. "He's still in our…my custody now, and therefore, he HAS to come with us, uh, m-me."

"You're not going to get him to go anywhere with you, I'm telling you." The blue hedgehog told her plainly. Seriously, the way she was saying it, it was almost as if she were becoming desperate. "And even if, by some miracle, he WOULD come with you, it'd be only to get you out of his hair and he'd probably not say…no, I know he wouldn't say a peep to you or-"

"Then you talk to him!" Octavia interrupted. "You get him to talk!" her grip tightened. "If you come with me and get him to come too, then…then you could just tell them!"

He knew who she was referring to, even if the group currently searching the forest weren't exactly affiliated with G.U.N. "You're not making this easy, Lady." Sonic sighed. "It's not like I'm not willing to help out. But I don't think that-"

"Please." She interrupted again, voice hitching. Honestly, it was far from a becoming display, he suspected a part of her knew that as well. Still, she pressed on. "I have to bring him back. I NEED to bring him back."

There was more to this than that. "Why?"

"I…I have to! Sonic, please!" she told him. "It's going to look so bad if I don't!"

Look bad? Since when did any of this have to do with her own self-image? Nevertheless, despite this, honestly, quite immature display, the blue blur saw slivers of logic in her words. "Ok, ok." He told her. "I'll go find him."

"You will?" she questioned, and with this realization, she removed his hands from his and placed them on his shoulders. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Y-Yeah. You mind?" she took her hands off, having been unintentionally shaking him.

"Sorry."

"I can't guarantee anything." Sonic clarified. "But I'll see what I can do. You on the other hand, go give those guys a visit."

"Where would you know where to find me?"

"I've passed by these guys' place a few times. I know where they are."

With that, upon stepping back, he took off, leaving the young woman alone.

No guarantee…even with his assurance, she suspected that it wasn't going to go in her favor. Then again, when did they ever? A small shudder came to her, and not from the chill of early morning. She could hear his voice in her head already. If Sonic couldn't at least get Shadow to cooperate somehow…

It killed her, but really, there was little that she could do now. Right now, it all hinged on the blue hedgehog. Yet another element that brought his voice to her. After all, he was in her custody. Why wasn't SHE the one doing this? Why was SHE relying on someone else to solve HER problem?

He wasn't going to like this. Assuming he wasn't in a frenzy already. And given what happened the night before, she doubted there'd be anything but frenzy.

Looking off in the direction Sonic had gone, Octavia bit her lip and, albeit reluctantly, went in the opposite direction.

Oh, he was not going to like this. Not one bit.

 **Later**

 **The Coastline**

Well, at least he didn't go far.

"Hey, there you are." Shadow didn't even turn back. From the trails in the sand, it appeared he had been doing quite a bit of pacing back and forth. "Not exactly a time where I'd personally go to the beach, but hey, I'd probably need some time to cool down after- "

"Whatever you're going to ask, don't bother." The Ultimate Lifeform interrupted. "And if that woman's sent you here, then you can tell her to forget it."

Welp, great. Honestly though, that bullet couldn't be dodged, even by him. Still, her in the picture or not, the blue blur had been wishing to get the other half of the story. "Forget about that." Sonic told him. It'd come up eventually, yet the longer he could keep it out of focus, the better. Especially if it brought him closer to achieving his goal. "Only thing she's told me is her side of what happened. All I want is to hear yours now."

Shadow huffed, though it just occurred to him. "You don't seem particularly started. Assuming she's told you of…" he paused, gaining Sonic's attention. As if he didn't even want to say it.

"Well…yeah, I don't know all about it, but those guys aren't as careful as they like to think." Sonic told him. "Some time ago, Tails said he saw some weird figures going around outside of his workshop. It was dark, so he couldn't get that good of a look. But given that the Chaos Emeralds were seemingly nowhere to be found, that sent us for a loop. Not to mention that, when they went past, Tails said that his Emerald Radar began acting up. But by the time he got out there, they were long gone."

For a short time, the other hedgehog was silent, staring out at the horizon, the waves rhythmically lapping at the sand.

"And that's not all." Sonic continued. "Another night, the alarm went bonkers, like as if four or three Emeralds were right by all clustered together. Yet again, by the time he got out there, the alarm on the radar went dead."

On and on, silence seemed to perpetuate throughout the entire area until, at long last, the coal black rodent parted his lips. "What do you hope to gain from telling me this?"

"I don't know. Maybe because this far from just affects you." Sonic answered. "And that, if what that lady said is true, then this isn't just something sporadic attack. Let alone their first. From that and what Tails has told me," he paused for a moment. "…and what's happened with Knuckles, I don't think that the business with the Black Arms is finished. Perhaps, it never was."

Shadow stiffened, teeth biting down hard on his lip to where he was certain that he would break through the skin. He found his head beginning to make small shakes from side to side, as if saying 'no, no, no, no' repeatedly. Yet it was then that he recalled a peculiar part of Sonic's statement. "What exactly happened with the echidna?"

Bingo, Sonic thought. "Funny you should ask." He began to approach the other hedgehog. "Which gets me thinking about proposing a deal."

"Such as?"

"Well, it's more of a 'give and take' between us two." The blue blur clarified. "You give a little summary of your side of the story, and I'll tell you about mine. Happened right around the same time you and that lady's did, I think."

This got Shadow to turn and face the other hedgehog, intrigued, yet it was clear that he wasn't entirely ready to talk just yet. His lips parted, yet nothing came from them before shutting again. Evident discomfort was in his eyes, body stiff and arms tightly hugging each other.

"Shadow," Sonic suddenly said, Shadow in turn puzzled by his tone of voice. He was clearly still on retrieving an answer from him, yet he sounded somewhat…gentle. "Look, whether or not we're exactly friends in your eyes is your business, but I'm someone that you can trust."

Shadow's eyes widened at that, turning towards the blue blur. Where in the world did that come from?

"But even you have to realize how important it is that everything gets out on the table." The ebony hedgehog was silent, attentive to the other's words, surprising himself that he was doing such. "I don't need each and every single detail." Sonic told him, knowing good and well that if he was this tight-lipped about it, even if he did get something, it wouldn't be much. "Just a general gist of what happened."

Shadow looked to the lines in the sand he had created, then back to the ocean. Lowering his head down, he released a rattled, heavy sigh.

"You first."

 **Forest S &R Base**

She winced as the ice pack was brought to her forehead, the already present throbbing now accompanied by a stinging chill.

"Sorry." A woman bearing a brown bob cut apologized, a cap bearing the name of a popular sports team on her head. "So, you said that you hit your head on a tree?"

"Yeah." Octavia confirmed, the sting of the ice beginning to lessen. "And next thing I knew, I'm someplace entirely different."

"That's when Sonic the Hedgehog entered the area, and the one, Shadow you called him, left?"

"Pretty much." The Private answered, folding her arms. "Jerk just up and left me. Twice."

"Well, good thing we were in the area then." The capped woman confirmed. "Where are you currently stationed?"

"Base J-04. Holy Summit." Octavia told her.

"Do you need us to provide transport for you there?"

"That would be great. Thank you."

The brown headed woman's eyes shifted to a peculiar object the young woman bore around her neck. "Pretty necklace you have there." Around Octavia's neck hung a silver chain that held a locket with a front composed of a sea green jade. Though still intact, it was far from new, smudges on the stone and the chain clearly didn't match with the gold, bottom half.

"It's old." Octavia told her. "It's…something of a good luck charm. I keep it under my uniform."

"I won't tell." The woman joked, then heading towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, she left Octavia alone, sitting on an examination table, the upper half of her uniform sitting in a chair nearby. Now, the only thing she had on her upper half being that of a grey undershirt and the mismatched chain and locket. Reaching up, she began to rub her fingers on the piece of jewelry, specifically the jade, a few cracks in its surface, but it was still mostly smooth to the touch. A long, heavy sigh escaped her, she continuing to rub the stone.

If anything, it was nothing short of a miracle that these people were out already, as well as the fire having been put out. Still, upon arriving, she found herself likening the area to that of one of their own bases. True, it was a little more open and obvious, the thickness of the trees provided a decent enough cover for it. It was quite small though, in comparison to that of the various bases G.U.N possessed, even if she had far from had a formal tour of all, if not a quarter of them. Still, it was obvious where the design came from, especially given how tight knit the local organizations and the global military power were connected.

Still, her observations and musing were little more than a poorly constructed distraction. A distraction that crumbled immediately the moment thoughts began invading her mind.

Right there, she couldn't help but think. He was RIGHT there, and even if she had no chance of catching him, he was still right there. Even more, what if Sonic couldn't convince him? Despite his assurance he'd try, Octavia knew deep down that she was a complete fool for even believing there was even a chance at all.

'Why?' she asked herself. 'Why did it have to be HIM of all people?' Generalized term of 'people' aside, of everyone she had to run into, it had to be that particular hedgehog. That particular hedgehog she was going to have to report, which would lead to him proving to be more than a handful as he'd surely never let them take him willingly.

Her fingers began to move more frantically now. Oh, he wasn't going to like this. Not. At. All.

Not to mention, everyone…

No. Not at all.

 **Coastline**

Click.

"So, here I was at Tails' place, minding my own business, when-"

It wasn't exactly a 'click', but the ebony hedgehog found himself completely unable to even register the other's words.

He…he began to feel something. Like before. Only…not exactly.

"And then we go outside-"

"Quiet."

It wasn't like the force urging him on before. Yet it wasn't completely unlike it either. It was some sense of 'recognition'. Akin to when one subconsciously knew that they were being watched or something was amiss. Only, it was no mere speculation. For one reason or another, this sensation, this feeling that caused the hairs to rise on his back was nothing short of absolutely certain. It was something he recognized, having felt such before, yet there was a slight difference in this. What it was, Shadow wasn't entirely sure, but…there was something more to it.

Regardless, he knew this.

Whatever it was, it was close.

And it was watching.

Whirling his head around, neither he or Sonic saw it outright, yet the blue wisps of energy indicated such.

"Whoa, hey!" Sonic called out, yet Shadow paid no mind, immediately setting of in the direct the wisps were seen, back into the sea of trees.

 **Note: For this, I'd imagine that Sonic is much more well known than Shadow is (given that in SA2, everyone thought Shadow and Sonic were the same), as he was noted for saving the world with Sonic from the Ark crashing (the details concerning the 'whole' story will be a pivotal part in this), given he's not one to go and present himself out in the open, he'd probably not have the same celebrity status as Sonic would, as Sonic's up and been tangling with Eggman for the better part of a good number of years (or in the Sonic universe, a couple, or neither, given no one seems to age) while Shadow's only been around since but a short time ago in this story's universe.**

 **Plus, the base's name is based off of the release date of Sonic Battle here in the US. And given it's location, I think it fits.**

 **Also, while Sonic isn't exactly known for it's complete and utter realism, please let me know if something is grossly inaccurate or unbelievable, as again, Sonic isn't reality, but that still doesn't excuse something from being totally incomprehensible and dismissing logic outright in instances.**

 **That said, please read and review! Especially the latter, as that really is the best encouragement for me to keep on going and going faster.**

 **Thanks and hope you enjoyed!**


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